Marika's Route: On a Valentine's Day
by Youtoberz
Summary: Maybe she wasn't the healthiest girl, but that never stopped Marika from following her dreams. Marika was giving her all everyday and overcoming the limits of her frail body just for Raku, her only desire, to notice her. But is it enough? Will her dreams of romance come to life or will her body reach its limit before experiencing requited love?
1. Kicked Out

To say that today was eventful would be an understatement. It started out as an elaborate trap to get Raku stranded on an island with her for the day. Once "stranded", Raku took appropriate measures to secure their survival which Marika admired; however, things quickly turned for the worse once night came.

"Haa… Haa…" Marika panted, trying desperately to catch her breath. It's been so long since Marika had an incident and thought one couldn't possibly happen at such a crucial moment.

" _Please… hold out… just a bit longer."_ Marika pleaded mentally, not having the strength to articulate her passionate feelings as she continued to pant.

" _Please… right now… Raku and I…_ "

 _Thump_

* * *

 _Kicked out_

It's been two weeks since then and school progressed into the spring semester. The days went by peacefully with no eventful happenings which Raku enjoyed thoroughly, well, besides his worrying about Marika.

"Good morning, darling." Chitoge greeted her "boyfriend" as she took her seat.

"Morning, honey." Raku returned her greetings.

The bell rang which signaled the start of class. "All right, everybody. I'm going to start taking roll." Yui instructed her class.

As Yui read through the names, Raku thought to himself " _Where are you, Marika? You seemed totally fine once we got back from that Kiribati vacation. Are things worse than I thought? Will you even be coming back at all?!"_

Going down the list and reaching Marika's name, Yui called out "It seems Ms. Tachibana is still-"

A knock at the door interrupted Yui who said "Come in."

As the door slid open, an orange haired student with a unique school uniform appeared alongside of her black-haired bodyguard.

" _Marika!"_ Raku screamed mentally once he saw the person who occupied his thoughts for two weeks.

"Mari- I mean, Ms. Tachibana?!" Yui blurted from her sudden appearance.

"Good morning, Ms. Kanakura. I apologize for my tardiness and my repeated absences. I am feeling well enough to attend school now." Marika greeted her teacher and rival.

As she entered the room, Marika noticed all of the surprised faces and informed the class of the reason for her continuous absences "Right before Christmas break came to an end, I had a medical emergency. I had special treatment in a town called Pittsburgh located in the U.S. There's no need for concern. I've been checked thoroughly and it seems that I've made a full recovery."

Collecting herself, Yui instructed "I-I see. Well, Ms. Tachibana, you've missed a fair amount of school days. I'll have to schedule a meeting with your father to sort everything out. For now, you may take a seat."

Marika did as instructed and the rest of homeroom went by normally; although, Raku had to resist the extreme urge to talk to Marika. Once homeroom ended, Raku made his way towards Marika's seat.

"H-Hey, Marika." Raku greeted awkwardly.

Seeing the person she has been dying to meet, Marika couldn't help but rush out of her desk and fling her arms around him. Marika greeted Raku as if she was greeting an old friend that she hasn't seen in years "It's been far too long, Raku! I've been dreaming of our reunion ever since we parted!"

Although her sudden embrace was embarrassing, it was reassuring for Raku to see Marika in such high spirits. Once she let go, Raku felt more at ease as he asked "Well, I don't want to bombard you with questions, so let me just ask you this; are you really going to be okay? You're not sick anymore?"

"Yes, I'm going to be just fine, Raku. I have to be in good health if I want to be your bride, after all." Marika replied almost instantly.

"You just got back and you're already making ridiculous statements. Learn to place limits on what you say, Marika." Chitoge fumed, overhearing their conversation.

Throughout the day, Raku thought back to his short conversation with Marika. " _It's such a relief to see that Marika is okay. Although…"_

" _I have to be in good health if I want to be your bride, after all."_

Her bold words put a small blush on his face every time his thoughts trailed back to them. " _That girl's as confident as ever; although, I still can't help but be impressed. Still… there's something that's bothering me…"_

"Good afternoon, Raku." Marika greeted Raku with a hug from behind while he was walking through the hallways.

"WAAH! Marika!" Raku yelped as his thoughts of Marika were interrupted by Marika.

Seeing Raku in a panic, Marika quickly let go of her hold on him and apologized "F-Forgive me, Raku. I did not mean to startle you."

Trying to settle down, Raku explained his outburst "Don't… Don't worry about it. I was just startled because I was thinking about you. Then you came out of nowhere and-"

Marika's interest was piqued as she asked "My, you were thinking about me? Tell me, just what kind of image of me were you thinking about? Perhaps we were together at the beach or on a cold winter's day… or were together doing something… indecent." Marika couldn't help but smile as blissful thoughts filled her head.

"I-Idiot! It's nothing like that!" Raku blurted as he furiously blushed. Calming down, Raku explained "Well, I've been worried about you for the past two weeks, so I was honestly just thinking about how I'm relieved to see that you're okay."

Raku's simple yet powerful words overwhelmed her thoughts as a blush rose to her cheeks. "I-I see. Well, I'm glad your mind is at ease." Marika quietly responded.

Scratching his cheek, Raku didn't want to part ways with Marika just yet as he suggested "Hey, wanna get a bite to eat with me after school? Consider it a celebration for your return to school. It'll be my treat."

Marika's eyes started sparkling as her heart started racing and she exclaimed "A-Are you asking me to go on a date with you?! I heartily accept!"

Once again, Marika was beyond reasoning which was no surprise to Raku as he sighed "Feel free to treat it as a date if you want."

"What did you just say, darling?" Raku heard a familiar voice demand with heavy emphasis on "darling".

"How dare you, Raku. When you already have Chitoge." Raku heard another familiar voice threaten menacingly.

" _This is the end."_ Raku accepted his cruel fate as he felt a raging fire from behind and started turning around. Sure enough, Raku saw Chitoge and Tsugumi with indescribably frightening expressions on their faces.

Trying to escape his death sentence, Raku pleaded "H-Hear me out. I was just treating Marika to a meal because she's been through a lot in the past two weeks. I promise there's no deeper meaning!"

Despite not wanting to make things worse for Raku, Marika couldn't help but object "You don't have to be so shy about our date, Raku; but if you insist, these two questionable human beings may accompany us. Just don't feel responsible for paying for them."

Finally seeing reason, Chitoge agreed bitterly "Fine, but you're paying for my food, darling." Tsugumi simply followed Chitoge's wishes and the four of them left the school.

As they walked aimlessly, Raku asked Marika "So where do you want to eat?"

Raku's question caught Marika off guard as she voiced her thoughts "Now that you mention it, I haven't put much thought into it. Honestly, anywhere with you is good enough for me. If you're so adamant about me choosing, I need a moment to think."

Marika's response did give Raku a slight jolt. Although Raku was almost used to Marika's boldness to this extent, he was worried sick about the reactions from Chitoge and Tsugumi who seemed calm for the moment.

Taking into account that Raku was spending money on at least three people's meals, Marika declared with a smile "Let's go to WcDonald's!"

This threw Raku off as he was willing to take the group out to eat just about anywhere. " _Maybe she has a craving for fast food after eating so much hospital food or something."_ Raku tried reasoning as he said "If that's what you want, let's go. Is that fine with you, honey? Tsugumi?"

"No complaints here. This is to celebrate Marika's recovery, after all." Chitoge agreed.

"Milady's wishes are mine as well. Plus, fast food is very convenient." Tsugumi agreed as well.

Chitoge and Tsugumi have been exceptionally cooperative today which made Raku wonder " _Were they worried about Marika too?_ "

Once they arrived at a nearby WcDonald's, Chitoge snickered to Tsugumi "So, what are you forcing Raku to buy you?"

Shaking her head, Tsugumi said "I will be buying my own food. An independent assassin doesn't accept charity."

Sighing, Chitoge complained "Aww, that's no fun!"

While Chitoge's attitude made Raku shudder, he couldn't help but hold Tsugumi in high regard for not adding to the dent in his wallet that Chitoge will surely create with her eating habits. Looking over at Marika, Raku heard her humming to herself as she looked happily though the menu.

" _Cute."_

"… _Wait what? Why did I… I mean, what's so cute about a girl looking through a fast food menu?"_ Raku wondered why he mentally complimented Marika.

Shaking his head as a means to brush away those thoughts, Raku asked "So, do you know what you'll be ordering? Don't hold back, because I know Chitoge won't."

"I'm still undecided. What about you, Raku?" Marika returned his question.

"Me? I'll probably have a burger and some fries. Maybe a milkshake if I'm feeling up to one." Raku replied.

Suddenly making up her mind, Marika said "If that's what you're getting, then I'll order the same thing. If you don't know what kind of milkshake you want, I strongly recommend the strawberry flavor."

"I'll keep that in mind." Raku noted. If it was just him and Marika, it would've only cost about fourteen dollars; however, the actual cost was thirty dollars.

"In an order initially for two people, how does the price more than double just by adding in a third person?" Raku wondered aloud. As Chitoge's fist hung threateningly in front of his face, he said "I didn't say anything."

Once they got their food, the group of four found a table to sit at with Raku and Marika sitting next to each other, leaving Chitoge and Tsugumi to sit next to each other.

Suddenly realizing she "forgot" to buy a drink, Marika said "Oh dear. It seems I've forgotten to purchase a drink. I'd hate to use up anymore of Raku's money. Why don't we share, Ra-"

Before Marika could even finish, Raku got up and told the group "I'll be right back. I'm going to go buy Marika a drink."

Once Raku was out of earshot, Chitoge lectured "Even if you don't mean to, sometimes you take advantage of Raku's kindness. You could probably pull stunts like that a million times before he gets seriously mad. A bunch of these schemes of yours can be a real burden on the poor guy, you know?" Chitoge didn't say this to put Marika down, but because she knows it exhausts Raku sometimes.

Chitoge's words hit a vulnerable spot in Marika's heart and, for the first time, couldn't bring herself to think of a witty response. It was as if Chitoge punched Marika in the gut as she forgot to breathe for a second and covered her mouth in shock. Getting up, Marika said "I'm… I'm going to go wait with him."

Thinking that this was another attempt to be with Raku, Chitoge was about to stop Marika; however, she felt Marika's drastic change in mood. Chitoge would even go as far as to say Marika looked truly depressed at this very moment.

"Okay, me and Tsugumi will wait here." Chitoge told Marika who nodded and walked away.

As Raku waited for his new order, he suddenly began to feel a faint presence to his side. Sure enough, Marika was standing beside him.

"You can sit down if you want. I don't mind." Raku told Marika.

"Raku… I'm sorry. As you probably know, I purposefully chose not to order a drink in the vain hopes that you would share yours with me. Please forgive me." Marika apologized with a somber look on her face.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I thought it was cute of you." Raku tried reassuring the saddened girl next to him.

Wait.

" _Cute of you…"_

Marika's facial expression changed entirely at Raku's careless words. With a blush, Marika slightly stuttered "R-Raku..?"

" _Oh boy, I've done it now! Why did I have to say such a stupid and reckless thing! I mean, I guess I was trying to cheer her up but I shouldn't be approving of her antics when I've already got a fake girlfriend! Did I mean it? I did say it before thinking about it and that means I said it based on what I was feeling! Oh god, no… Am I really a shallow guy that gets his thrills by taking advantage of other girls' advances?"_

"Excuse me. Your strawberry milkshake is ready." Raku heard an employee call out to him which snapped him out of his thoughts.

As they continued to eat, Chitoge and Tsugumi were joined once again by Raku and Marika who were obviously blushing.

Getting irritated, Chitoge demanded "What happened while I wasn't looking?"

"Milkshakes. Milkshakes happened." Raku answered back who didn't want to discuss it.

Once the group finished eating, they decided to part ways.

"Thanks for the food, Raku!" Chitoge beamed at Raku.

"Although I paid for my own food, I appreciated your offer, Raku." Tsugumi smiled at Raku. With that, Chitoge and Tsugumi walked off, leaving Raku alone with Marika and the two started walking together.

"Thanks for buying me this milkshake, Raku. Somehow, it feels like you planned on buying me this from the start." Marika observed as she continued to drink from it.

Scratching the back of his head, Raku admitted "To be honest, I had a thought that went like 'hey, what if Marika tries getting me to share my drink with her?' I already knew you like milkshakes, so all I had to do was to learn your preference and that's why I said that I was thinking about getting a milkshake. I can't fall for all your crazy schemes." Raku ended his explanation with a chuckle.

Raku's explanation astonished Marika. Not only did Raku outsmart her, but he went to such measures just to buy her something she wanted. Marika couldn't help but giggle "You really do overthink things, Raku."

After spending a little while longer walking together, it became apparent that their homes were in opposite directions.

"Well, it was fun, Marika, but I have to go home now." Raku said when he noticed the sun getting ever so closer to the horizon.

"Actually, Raku, about you going home." Marika began to explain.

"… _Wait, what? What do you mean 'about you going home'? I am going home, right?"_ Raku started having terrifying thoughts with his abduction still in the back of his mind.

"The thing is, you won't be living with your family for a while." Marika continued.

" _Oh no… She's finally done it…"_

"Remember how I said I had a part-time job to raise money to buy a house for the two of us?"

" _That combined with her dad's wealth, she probably bought a nice house alright… A house that won't be easy to find or easy to escape. Maybe it's even on the island Kiribati."_

If running was a choice, Raku would've been long gone by now; however, Marika's guardian, Honda, is surely hidden somewhere nearby waiting to pounce, or at least, that's what Raku was thinking.

Noticing Raku's panic, Marika asked "What's wrong, Raku? You look terrified."

"Oh, it's nothing. I just don't like the idea of getting kidnapped again and being taken far, far away." Raku admitted as he started to sweat.

Realizing that she was failing to get her idea across to him, Marika suggested "Maybe you should go home, Raku. That will probably clear things up."

"Y-Yeah, I'll do that." Raku agreed as his paranoid thoughts started to cease. " _Maybe the whole Kiribati vacation is making me paranoid about being suddenly abducted."_ Raku wondered as he started calming down.

With a warm smile, Marika parted ways with Raku "I'll see you soon, Raku."

"See you later." Raku said as he started heading home with lightheadedness.

The walk home was normal for Raku who was wary of police ambushes or something else along those lines. Once he reached the gate of his house, Raku was shocked to find the gate closed and locked with a note taped to it that read "Sorry about this, Young Master – Ryu"

"… EXCUSE ME?!" Raku yelled at the top of his lungs and continued his rant "What the hell is this?! Am I getting kicked out?! Why the hell is this happening?!"

His rage boiling his blood, Raku climbed the wall surround his house. Once he reached the other side, he activated an alarm system that he was ignorant about. Sirens ran and guard dogs started chasing him around.

"WHY?!" Raku screamed as he ran at full speed away from the dogs.

After the fiasco with the dogs, Raku finally made it to the door of his room… which was boarded.

"What the hell… is going on?" Raku panted in front of his sealed room.

"Howdy there." Raku heard a familiar voice say.

His rage nearing its limits, Raku shouted "What the hell is going on, dad?!"

Clearing his throat, his father explained "It seems like you've been through quite a lot in the past few minutes. A sudden gas leak erupted in your room so-"

"Bullshit!" Raku interrupted.

"… So your room will be off-limits for about a month. Don't worry though, there's a place for you to stay nearby." Raku's father continued to explain.

"Let's say I believe that my room is truly dangerous. Why can't I just use a guest room for the time being?" Raku tried his best to use reason and held back his frustration.

"Then where will the guests stay?" Raku's father shot back.

"This is a yakuza family! Why the hell would we have guests?!" Raku yelled as his fury started getting the better of him.

"Please, son, just do this for 'her' sake. On the back of the note at the gate, there's an address to your new home for the time being. All your stuff is already there and unpacked. It's best you get comfortable there." Raku's father ended their little debate and started walking away.

Following the directions on the note, Raku found himself at an apartment complex and reached the room number that was also on the note.

"This is it." Raku sighed as he knocked on the door.

Almost instantly, the door flung open revealing Marika in a maid outfit.

"Welcome home, master! Would you like dinner or a bath? Or maybe… me?" Marika greeted with a welcoming smile.

Taking a few seconds to inhale, Raku let out of a very long sigh and complained "Why is this happening to me?"

After the two made their way to the small living room, Raku finally asked "Marika, please, enlighten me. Why, just why are we living together in this apartment?"

With a beaming smile, Marika started to explain "I'm glad you asked, Raku. Remember how I had that part-time job to raise money for a nice house for the two of us? I decided that I would be just as satisfied living in an apartment if it means living with you. So we'll be living here on the money I've earned thus far. As you've probably been informed, this is a temporary arrangement because of the… bug infestation in your room?" This was more of a question than a statement.

"Gas leak." Raku informed her.

Brushing that aside, Marika continued "The details don't matter anyway. We'll be living here together for the time being so please make yourself comfortable. I've saved up for quite some time now so we can live comfortably for the next month. If you need anything, just let me know."

"For now, I think I just want to go to bed." Raku replied, feeling exhausted.

Painting a unique picture in her head, Marika blushed and stuttered "Y-You want to go to b-bed with me? My, that's just so soon, but if that's what you wish, I can-"

If Raku wasn't already so exhausted, he would've blushed or argued. Instead, he simply explained "I'm going to sleep by myself. After being chased by guard dogs and being forced out of my home, I need rest."

Marika couldn't help but be disappointed as she pouted "You're alone with a charming girl for the night and all you want to do is end the day. You're no fun, Raku. Alright, I'll show you to your room."

Raku found his bed with the rest of his belonging in the room Marika guided him to. Sighing with relief, Raku laid down on his bed and said "Well, I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."

"Well, if you're going to bed, I might as well rest too." Marika replied as she started laying down next to him.

"W-What are you doing?" Raku exclaimed with a mad blush.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to bed." Marika answered with a confused look on her face.

"No, why are you trying to sleep right next to me?!" Raku continued his questions.

"You see, one bedroom apartments are cheaper than two bedroom apartments so-" Marika started to explain.

Cutting Marika off, Raku sighed "Well, the couch in the living room looks comfortable too."

Watching as Raku got up, Marika gave in "Fine. You win, Raku. Let me show you something."

Marika guided the two toward an empty wall and started tearing the wallpaper apart.

"H-Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Raku yelled as Marika was tearing apart their apartment.

Once Marika was done, a door was revealed and she explained "When I took your feelings into account, I ended up buying a two bedroom apartment. I had Honda cover up my bedroom in the hopes that you would agree to share a room, but you didn't."

Seeing the lengths that Marika went to, Raku couldn't help but be impressed "Wow. To think that you scolded me early for overthinking things."

Giggling, Marika stated "Just about everything I do is for your sake. You say I'm overthinking things, but doing something like this was more out of instinct."

"Don't tell me you have a seventh sense: the 'Raku' sense." Raku joked; although, her statement did put a blush on his face as he scratched his cheek.

Marika giggled as she said "I guess you could say I do have a 'Raku' sense. I won't keep you up any longer. Enjoy your slumber, Raku. Sweet dreams."

"You too, Marika." Raku replied as he started heading back to his room.

"One more thing, Raku." Marika said suddenly.

Getting his attention, Raku turned around to see Marika's back.

"If I never came back to school… If one day I wasn't around anymore, how would you feel?" Marika asked in a soft tone.

This question caught Raku off guard as he tried formulating a response. Knowing she asked a tough question, Marika turned around and smiled "You don't have to answer, Rakkun. When I left for America, I reckon I was just scared half to death is all."

Feeling more at ease, Raku replied with a smile "Just don't disappear on me, Marika."

This made Marika's smile widen as she turned to enter her room.

Once Raku got comfortable laying down, he finished a troubling thought he had at school earlier " _There's still something that's bothering me."_

" _I'm going to be just fine, Raku. I have to be in good health if I want to be your bride, after all."_

As he thought back to Marika's response, he couldn't help but wonder _"Why did her response feel so forced, no… rehearsed?"_

-A year and a half ago-

Marika was brought before her mother.

"I wonder, why might my mother be summoning me? Surely it's not for something petty like spending time with your daughter." Marika glared at her mother.

Standing aloof, Chika proclaimed "Don't be ridiculous. What use do I have for a daughter like you? I have summoned you today to tell you that I'm relieving you from this household. You're not fit to carry on our family legacy, so I'm letting you do what you wish. Whether its meeting your fiancé or rotting away inside of your father's apartment, I do not care. Just get out of my sight."

Although her words were harsh, Marika couldn't help but be overjoyed as she exclaimed "I can be with my Rakkun?!"

Marika's attitude about the situation was surprising for Chika who replied "Do as your wish. Just be out of this house within an hour. I'm assigning Honda to watch you so that you don't spill any of our, no, my family's secrets."

With that, Marika left the room overjoyed which left Chika bitter as she muttered "How can she be so happy despite her condition..?"

* * *

 **Author's notes: Now I know you weren't expecting me to post this chapter so fast, do you know how I know? Because even I was not expecting to upload the first chapter before Valentines day. I mean, it's only been three days since I finished my RakuXChitoge fanfiction so I thought I would take a short break. I could not hold back the hype. I was filled with determination as I wrote this and the first chapter came out a lot better than I expected.**

 **One of the problems I had when writing this is capturing Marika's tendency to go overboard, but then the sharing an apartment idea came to mind and it works so well with this story and the fact that she's been saving her money to live with Raku.**

 **One thing I'd like to touch on is my picking and choosing how characters address each other. In my previous fanfiction, Raku called Kosaki by her first name rather than calling her by her last name in the manga. Basically, I have the characters are addressing themselves as if they were raised in the U.S. This has been done in several English dubs of anime. For example, in Bleach, Oriheme calls Ichigo by his first name in the English version but calls him by his surname "Kurosaki-kun" in the original Japanese. This is just a preference I have and it's more simple for me than to write "Raku-sama" all over the place.**

 **You've probably already guess this, but w** **ith the content I plan to write, I won't be done by Christ- I mean Valentine's Day. Despite how quickly I got this chapter out, the chances of a chapter coming out on Valentines Day is 50/50. I have two projects and a paper due next week on top of work so... We'll see. There's also the Smash DLC coming out today and if I trying writing a paper when all I can think about is playing as a Dragon or Witch, the quality of my writing will decrease. You'll probably have to satisfy your romantic thirst by... (shudders) spending time with your romantic partner, or, if you're like me, watching anime to lessen the void of emptiness not being in a relationship creates. I'm kidding~ But if you don't hear from me until after Valentine's Day, I hope it's a good one!**

 **Special shout out to Moosashi for helping me with the title. I literally spent all day trying to decide on which title I wanted to go with and he gave me his advice which made choosing one a lot easier!**

 **Well, that's about it. Now I have to think of an interesting summary for this Fanfiction (always the part I hate doing the most). And I will see you... in the next chapter... BUH BYEEEEEEE!**

 **5/13/16 UPDATE: This is an update about the title of this fanfiction which used to be "On a Valentine's Day". Since I created this fanfiction, I was really satisfied with the title; however, something nagged away at me and it finally hit me while I was reading my "Zawzse In Love..." fanfiction. "On a Valentine's Day" didn't imply that it was about Marika at all and had none of her presence. So, that's why I changed it to"Marika's Route: On a Valentine's Day". If you were thrown off about this change, I apologize. I will also be posting this update on the last chapter.**


	2. Roommates

_Roommates_

"Huh?" Raku awoke with great confusion. Sure, all of his personal items were with him, but the theme of the room was western. This clearly wasn't his house.

Panicking, Raku tip-toed his way towards the door. Unfortunately, the room he was in had no windows so the only means of escaping was through this door.

" _Here I go."_ Raku mentally prepared himself as he started opening the door as slowly and as quietly as he could.

Once cracked open, Raku first smelled an incredible aroma and heard sizzling along with a person's humming.

" _Wait a second."_ Raku wondered as the humming sounded familiar to him. Peeking out the door, Raku saw Marika who appeared to be cooking.

This relieved Raku who thought he was kidnapped by another yakuza family for ransom again. Refocusing on the problem at hand, Raku desperately wondered " _Okay, so why am I here again? Is this another kidnapping by Marika so that she-"_ His thoughts were cut off as he slowly started remembering the events of yesterday and finally realized that he was to stay with Marika for a month.

"Oh no…" Raku uttered in despair at his situation.

As Marika continued working on breakfast for herself and her beloved, she heard someone muttering something. Turning around, Marika saw Raku peeking out of his room.

"Good morning, Raku. Breakfast will be ready soon." Marika greeted Raku with a smile.

Reluctantly, Raku slowly made his way towards the table and sat down. Raku had a mountain's worth of questions to ask Marika, but he didn't want to take her focus away from cooking so he sat there silently and listened to Marika's humming.

"Here you are!" Marika smiled as she placed a plate of food in front of Raku.

"Umm… thanks." Raku tried being polite; however, he was still utterly confused by the situation he was in. Despite his mixed feeling, the food smelled delicious and found himself in heaven after taking a small bite. It's been far too long since he tasted great food that he didn't prepare.

"It's good!" Raku couldn't help but compliment Marika's cooking.

This put a blush on Marika's face as she beamed "R-Really?! I mean, I made sure to prepare my love with only the best of food."

Breakfast went by with silence; although, Marika's previous statement made Raku feel embarrassed once again. Once they were both done eating, Raku began his attack.

"So, what am I doing here?" Raku popped the question yet again.

"Didn't we discuss this yesterday? You're here because of the bug- I mean, because of the gas leak in your room." Marika replied.

Not satisfied with her answer, Raku went on "Look, I was completely exhausted last night. That's why I didn't push you further about it. Now that I'm rested and can actually think rationally, I know that this is a very bad, no, terribly bad idea. I have a girlfriend, you know, and I can't just-"

"A fake girlfriend." Marika interjected.

"…Huh?" Raku uttered from shock. How was he found out? Did Marika have some sort of "Answer Talker" ability that grants her any amount of knowledge on him?

Truth be told, Marika was very uncomfortable about going forward. If she wanted to make any progress with Raku, she couldn't pretend to be ignorant anymore and so she confessed "I've known the truth for a very long time. I know about your fake relationship with Chitoge and I know who it is you actually like... Kosaki. Don't look so surprised. After all, you're the sole person of my attention."

Raku's mind was being assaulted by Marika's knowledge. If it were anyone else, Raku wouldn't have been able to make sense out of it. Since its Marika, it's not completely outrageous but it still makes Raku wonder just how she learned of the fake relationship and about his crush.

"How long have you known?" Raku asked with a mad blush on his face.

"I assure you, I've known for quite some time now." Marika forced a smile with her response.

Going back to the question he has been dying for an answer to, he asked yet again "If you know about my situation, then just why are we living together? If Chitoge's family found out-"

"My reasons are selfish, I know." Marika interrupted Raku and went on with bitterness "But it's just not fair! You've been going to school with Kosaki for years and now you're in forced relationship with Shitoge. So I decided it's about time for my upper hand. We'll keep this a secret between us and our families."

"But what if we're found out?" Raku asked as a dreadful image of an all-out war ran through his mind.

Already prepared for this question, Marika stated "My father promised to side with your family should a war break out. With that, the mafia would have no choice but to surrender and my dad promised to make it as peaceful as possible."

Having the police on his side was really assuring, but Raku didn't want a war to break out in the first place and said "I don't know. I think it would be a whole lot simpler if we didn't live together."

Raku's words hit Marika in a vulnerable spot. Slowly accepting her defeat, Marika's head sunk as she whispered "I can't go against your wishes, Raku. So if you wish to return to your family, I won't stop you."

Raku couldn't believe his ears. Marika was actually letting him off the hook but Raku couldn't feel relieved or happy in the least.

" _Please, son, just do it for her sake."_ Raku remembered his father's words from yesterday.

"Okay, I'll stay." Raku finally gave in.

"…Huh?" Marika said whose expression changed from sullen to dumbfound.

Trying to say everything in one go, Raku explained "Everyone's pushing me to stay with you and if it means I'll get great food, then how can I say no? Besides… I feel like there's another reason why I'm here. At any rate, you win, Marika. I'll live with you for a month."

"Raku!" Marika shouted the name of her love as her face started shining with hope and joy. Dashing out of her seat, Marika swiftly wrapped her arms tightly around Raku.

"G-Geez, there you go again." Raku stuttered who was embarrassed by her embrace.

After Marika's clingy moment, Raku had her sit down as he explained "If we're going to be living together, there's going to be some rules."

"Ugh." Marika complained to herself quietly. Noticing that Raku heard her, Marika added with a sweet voice "I mean, please go on, Raku."

"First off, I need my privacy. When my door is closed, that means I don't want to be disturbed. If I don't mind your company, I'll keep it open. Secondly, we don't speak to anybody about this. Since a war could break out, we need to keep this top secret. I won't even tell Shuu about this. Third, we'll split costs evenly. I have some money saved up and-"

"Raku, that's unnecessary! I promise it's no trouble for me to-"

"Nope. We're living together, so expenses and duties will be divided evenly. That also accounts for stuff like cleaning and cooking. Deal?" Raku stated adamantly.

Having no other choice, Marika gave in "Wow, Raku. Sometimes, you can be just as forceful as me. Very well. I will comply with your wishes. Besides… now it feels like we're really supporting each other." Marika couldn't help but smile with delight.

"We are supporting each other, but just as roommates." Raku clarified but was happy to see Marika smile.

And so, the two started living together and things were surprisingly normal for a week; although, there were a few "Marika moments".

"How is everything, Raku?" Marika asked behind the door.

"The bath's really nice. It's really relaxing and it takes my mind off things. I bet you can't wait to get in here." Raku called out to her from the bath tub. If Raku were a cat, he would be purring nonstop.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. You're right, I can't wait to enjoy a nice bath." Marika answered back, taking out a cotton swab.

As Raku relaxed, he heard a strange noise near the door and saw the doorknob shake slightly. Starting to feel uneasy, Raku asked "Umm, Marika? What are you doing?"

"Hmm? I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Raku." Marika answered as she started humming with glee.

"Oh no. Don't give me that! I know you're doing some-" Raku started to say before the door was opened.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Raku wailed once the door was wide open, revealing Marika. Raku's first reaction was to get far, far away. So he bailed from the tub but he made the floor slippery and well…

 _BAM_

Raku fell face first onto the floor. Unfortunately, his face wasn't the only thing that hit the floor. Raku didn't even have the strength to scream. What he was experiencing transcended pain and so he squirmed pathetically on the floor.

"KYAAAAA!" Marika squealed from the whole scene and bolted out of the room. Sure, she wanted to tease him a little bit, but she didn't plan on seeing him in such a state.

After quite a long time, Raku collected himself as best he could and dressed himself. Once leaving the bathroom, Raku saw Marika sitting in a chair and facing away towards the wall.

"Um… you can have your bath now… if you want." Raku muttered embarrassingly.

"T-That's okay. I reckon I'll just… have one later." Marika replied, still facing away from him to hide her crimson face.

Although the awkwardness was already intense, Raku had to ask "So… how much did you see?"

"I-I… I saw your behind. I didn't see anything else though, I swear." Marika confessed.

Taking her at her word, Raku sighed and took a seat at the table and laid his face down.

"Did it hurt?" Marika faced him and asked almost in a whisper.

Lifting his face for a moment, which Marika saw was pale as a ghost, Raku groaned "N-Nah, I didn't even feel it."

Once a week had passed since the two started living together, Marika checked to see if Raku's door was opened, which it was.

"Raku, I'm coming in." Marika informed as she entered. Once inside, she found Raku laying sideways on his bed reading something.

"Hey." Raku greeted Marika as he continued reading.

"You keep your door open a lot these days. A week ago, you rarely left it open; but lately, you've been keeping your door open at all times. Could that be your way of saying you want to spend more time with me?" Marika asked as her lips formed a soft smile.

"It's more like I don't mind your company." Raku replied, turning his attention to his roommate.

"My, how cruel, Raku." Marika complained as she put her hand over her mouth.

Raku couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction and apologized "Sorry, I was just joking."

Wanting to be next to him, Marika laid down beside him and took interest in what he was reading.

"W-What are you-"

"I just want to read along with you, that's all." Marika assured Raku as she starting taking in the page. It wasn't a novel, but a comic book.

"Okay, but no funny business this time." Raku warned and refocused on the book.

Surprised by what she found on the page, Marika questioned "Why is that child fighting that king?"

Marika's curiosity excited Raku as he tried explaining the plot "Well, the boy fell down a hole and now he's in an underground civilization filled with monsters. The monsters hate humans; but none of them could bring themselves to kill the child who refused to hurt them. The little guy was just trying to go home but the king was blocking him. The king really is a good guy, but he has to stop the human because- why are you giggling?"

Marika couldn't help but giggle and she replied "You must really love this story, Raku. You just seemed so passionate in your explanation that I couldn't help myself. You really are adorable."

"H-Hey! Don't say that!" Raku muttered and became flustered.

Marika could only giggle more from his reaction. Taking another look at the child, Marika asked "Isn't the child scared? He's facing something he can't beat and he's practically staring death in the face."

Taking a second to think, Raku answered "If I were this child, it wouldn't be about being afraid or fighting something he can't beat. It's more like he's determined to do the best he can, despite being so weak."

Something resonated with Marika and felt like she truly connected with the child and asked "Raku? Can we read the whole story together?"

It wasn't every day that someone asked him to read one of his favorite stories, so he couldn't help but say "Sure! We can read this from start to finish!"

The two spent the rest of the day reading the story. Wondering about the time, Raku looked at his alarm clock.

"Whoa, it's already nine!" Raku exclaimed who was startled by all of the time that went by.

"Wow, it seems that you're right, Raku." Marika replied who was equally as shocked.

Raku wanted to continue reading the story; however, he also felt like there was a point where they should've stopped and they have clearly passed it. Remembering the homework, Raku closed the comic and started to say "Well, I think that's enough of-"

His words as well as his thoughts ceased once he looked into Marika's face which was an incredibly short distance away. Was Marika that close the entire time? Raku was too into sharing the story with Marika to notice her closeness.

"Hmm?" Marika muttered who turned her head to face him.

Raku found himself lost in her face and he started remembering the last time he was this close to Marika.

" _Let's kiss, Raku. You and I."_ Raku flashbacked to that day on the Ferris wheel.

 _Thump thump_

Rising quickly from his bed, Raku stuttered "W-Well, I-I think I'm going to go work on homework now."

Although Raku's behavior was interesting to Marika, she decided to ignore it and proposed "We should work on it together. Two minds work more effectively than just one."

Wanting to finish the homework as quickly as possible, Raku agreed "That sounds like a good idea."

As Marika started getting up, Raku scratched the back as his head and admitted "Hey, Marika? Thanks for letting me share that story with you. It made me happy."

Overjoyed by Raku's thanks, Marika bolted upwards and wrapped her arms around his neck and beamed "You're quite welcome, Raku! I'm always willing to spend time with you no matter what it is we're doing!"

-The next day at school-

"You don't look so good, Raku." Chitoge observed her "boyfriend" who was resting his head on the desk.

"Didn't get much sleep last night. Did homework at the last minute. Wasn't fun." Raku answered who stifled a yawn.

"Hmpf, that's what you get you procrastinating beansprout." Chitoge scolded.

Not having the energy to respond, Raku simply looked towards Marika's desk and saw that she was in about the same condition that he was in.

An idea popping into Chitoge's head, she suggested with a slight blush "Since you aren't responsible enough, how about I come over today to help you with your homework?"

"Sure, that would be nice." Raku accepted Chitoge's offer without a second thought.

" _I'm sorry about reading that comic for too long yesterday. I'll make it up to you somehow."_ Raku apologized to his sleepy friend and roommate.

After a very slow day at school, Chitoge and Raku were walking together in the hallways to chat and act like a couple. As Raku chatted with Chitoge, Marika came into view.

"Hey, how are you feeling, Marika?" Raku asked the still sleepy girl.

"Greetings, Raku. While I must say that I was feeling rather sleepy, reuniting with you is enough to completely dispel me of exhaustion." Marika greeted Raku.

"That's good. Well, me and Chitoge were just about to go do some homework at my house. Want to tag along?" Raku asked as he yawned once again.

"I-Idiot! Don't tell her that! And cover your mouth when you yawn!" Chitoge exclaimed. She secretly wanted to spend some alone time with Raku but that was surely about to be ruined with Marika joining in.

"M-My, I'm not sure if I can go to RAKU'S HOUSE today." Marika answered with heavy emphasis on "Raku's house".

Confused by the heavy emphasis, Raku asked "Um, why did you put so much emphasis on my-"

 _Shatter_

Raku's mind has just been crushed. How could he have forgotten that his current home was an apartment that he was sharing with Marika. Was he really that sleepy to forget such a crucial detail? Sleep deprivation just became Raku's sworn enemy and promised to always get eight hours of sleep every night.

Trying to get out of his plans with Chitoge, Raku lied "Um, yeah… about that, Chitoge... I forgot to tell you that there's a, um, gas leak- bug infestation in my house."

"… A gas leak, bug infestation?" Chitoge asked who was clearly not buying it.

"…Yeah." Raku could only utter that simple response.

Not only did Chitoge know Raku was lying, but it seemed like it had something to do with Marika which added to Chitoge's annoyance.

"Whatever." Chitoge snarled before walking away.

Once Chitoge was out of earshot, Raku sighed "She's pissed."

"I'm sorry, Raku. Our situation has already caused you trouble with your friends." Marika apologized.

Scratching his head, Raku replied "I'll make it up to her somehow. Don't worry about it." Although the main crisis had been avoided, Raku couldn't help like something dangerous was watching them so Raku whispered to Marika "I have to take care of the animals today so you can go home first."

"I understand." Marika whispered back and parted ways with Raku. The two left school at different times so they wouldn't get caught walking to the same apartment together.

Once Raku finished tending to the animals, he was just about to leave when he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Hey there, Raku."

"Hey, Shuu." Raku greeted his best friend who was wearing that familiar wide smile.

"How about we walk home together and get something to eat?" Shuu offered.

Wary of his earlier mistake, Raku apologized "Sorry, Shuu. But I'm not walking the same way as you today. I'm visiting a friend."

"Oh, really? I didn't know you had any friends other than me." Shuu joked with a light chuckle.

Taking slight offense, Raku tried defending himself "Of course I have more than one friend. There's…" Unfortunately, Raku didn't have many friends and all the names that came to mind were girls and there was no way Raku could imply he was visiting a girl.

While Raku wanted to confess his whole situation to Shuu, he couldn't break his promise to Marika and so he said "Hey, Shuu? You've probably already guessed that I've been hiding something from you. I just want you to know that I trust you, but I've pretty much been sworn to secrecy. I promise I'll explain the whole thing once it's over."

Startled by Raku's honesty, Shuu answered "Hey, don't worry about it. This is something between you and Marika. It is Marika, right? Anyways, I may not know what's going on exactly, but I have a general idea so I get why you can't tell me."

Once again, Raku's best friend has pulled through for him as he thanked "Thanks, Shuu. You're honestly the most understanding best friend in the world."

"I know, I am pretty awesome after all." Shuu boasted with a wide smile. Once his smile softened, Shuu questioned with a more serious tone "Hey, Raku? Do you have a crush on you-know-who?"

A little startled by his sudden question, Raku blushed and answered "Well, yeah. Of course I still like-"

Raku found himself unable to finish his sentence which didn't puzzle Shuu in the slightest.

Raku finished his answer more honestly and with more thought "Kosaki is my dream girl and I'm definitely interested in her; however... Remember when you said that I may like Chitoge? I've been thinking it over, and it definitely seems like a possibility now. Every day is an adventure with her, and I've experienced so many things just being by her side so I can't ignore my desire to be with her anymore."

"So… you like both of them?" Shuu asked for closure.

"Yeah, I'm the worst." Raku muttered as his head hung low.

"Wow, you sure did a lot of homework since I asked you about your romantic feelings!" Shuu praised Raku and was impressed but added "But I have one more assignment for you."

"Stop acting like a teacher, Mr. Maiko." Raku groaned who was currently sick of words like "homework" and "assignments".

"How do you feel about Marika?" Shuu asked the question he had been saving for over a week.

A blush instantly rose to Raku's face who stammered "W-What?! N-No way! I already have feelings for Chitoge and Kosaki! How could I possibly have feelings for a-a third person!"

"You know, a simple 'no' would be much more believable. You tend to outburst when you're lying to yourself." Shuu pointed out.

Shuu had a fair point which Raku couldn't think of anything to counter it. Being honest once more, Raku said "I… I just don't know. Over winter break, I accepted her feelings for me; but to be honest, I have no idea how I feel about her."

"Okay, then what don't you like about her? She seems like the perfect girl if you ask me." Shuu picked Raku's brain.

Taking a second to think, Raku remember something Marika once said to him.

" _What kind of girl do you prefer now? I know I can transform myself in any way, as long as it's for your sake."_

"The problem is… she's trying to become a perfect girl based on my preferences. She talks about transforming herself to look more appealing to me, but that makes me feel more distant from the real Marika." Raku admitted and started scratching the back of his head.

This came as a shock to Shuu who replied "Whoa, now that's a little extreme. Still, don't you think Marika has become a better person because of her dedication to you? She's become an excellent cook, learned good manners, and recently started excelling in school. Refining her skills is fine, but I can see it being a problem when it comes to changing her personality, but I don't think that's an issue either. When you think of Marika, do you think of someone who strives for perfection?"

Shuu's sudden question caught Raku off guard who took yet another few moments to think of an honest response. "No, I think Marika just wants to put her all into everything she does. She's crafty, smart, pretty, passionate, strong willed, and loyal, but she's definitely not perfect."

"But is she perfect for you?" Shuu asked, partially to tease Raku.

"How am I supposed to know?!" Raku exclaimed as the blush reformed on his face.

Laughing, Shuu said his goodbye "Hahaha! You're so easy to embarrass. I almost feel bad that you're stuck with a best friend like me! Anyways, I have to head home now."

"Geez, I can't believe we're leaving off with a question like that." Raku complained.

Although Shuu already started walking away, he had one last question for Raku.

"One more thing. Out of all the girls, why is Marika the only one you remember from your childhood?" Shuu turned around to ask this question.

Out of all the questions Shuu's asked in the past five minutes, this one impacted Raku the most who couldn't even begin to think of an answer.

"Think of that question as a little extra credit assignment." Shuu teased before walking away.

Raku walked back to his apartment, just as he had done the past week; however, he couldn't shake this feeling of uneasiness. It was like he was being followed.

"I'm just being paranoid again. Shuu's interrogation doesn't help either. I mean, what am I supposed to do about my situation?" Raku complained to himself as he walked home.

Once he entered his apartment, Marika was sitting at the table and appeared to be reading for class.

"Welcome home, Raku." Marika beamed at Raku.

"Thanks, are you doing homework?" Raku questioned as he took off his shoes.

Remembering the events of last night, Marika answered "Yes, I am. I did not want a repeat of last night. Besides… that creature was supposed to help you with your homework. While I must confess that my test scores do not match that woman yet, I will do my best to help you."

Once again taken by Marika's generosity towards him, Raku apologized "Sorry, Marika. It was my fault for reading that comic to you for so long last night. And are you sure you want to start on homework right away? It's the weekend so it's okay if you take a nap instead. You looked pretty tired at school earlier."

Shaking her head, Marika replied "Don't worry, Raku. The fault also goes to me for wanting to spend more time with you. If it's alright with you, I'd like to get this homework out of the way so we can enjoy the weekend without thoughts of school. Besides… I have plans for tomorrow."

Taking a seat next to her, Raku asked "What plans?"

Becoming timid, Marika blushed and revealed "Well… I was hoping to go on a date with you tomorrow."

"H-Hold up. A date?! Don't you think that's going a bit too far?" Raku questioned with shock in his voice.

"We've been spending a lot more time together, but that's only within this apartment. I was hoping to go out and have some fun. I'm hoping that you'll agree, but I won't push you on this." Marika finished explaining as she averted her eyes from Raku out of embarrassment.

After a short silence between the two, Marika finally asked "So, will you go on a date with me tomorrow, Raku?"

Already knowing what he was going to say, Raku answered "Okay, but if anyone askes, we're just hanging out, deal?"

"Of course! I agree to those terms! I was expecting you to say no so I'm incredibly pleased to hear you say yes." Marika beamed with a sparkling eyes and a wide smile.

Marika happiness rubbed off on Raku who smiled as well. Remembering something he wanted to address, Raku asked "Hey, Marika? Remember when you said that you'd change your personality to match my wants?"

"Of course I do, Raku. That offer still stands and I'm willing to transform myself if it's what you wish." Marika answered.

Having a lot to say, Raku took a breath and explained "Well, last time I told you that you were fine as you were and that you were, well, cute. To be honest, I don't want you to change, Marika. Sure, training yourself to learn new skills like cooking and studying is fine, but I don't want to change the core of your personality. So I'm now telling you to just be the Marika I know, okay? Not some perfect image of a girl that's going through my mind or anything like it."

"Raku…" Marika uttered almost speechlessly and continued "To be honest, I regretted offering in the first place. Not that I wasn't willing to change myself for you, but because I knew you felt like that. You're still the Rakkun I knew from childhood, so I still have a good idea of what's going through your mind. If that's what you wish, Raku, then I am happy to oblige. I hope you know that this means I can still pursue you as much as I please. After all, the desires I have for you are the strongest part of my being."

Already feeling used to Marika's constant pursuing, Raku chuckled "If that's what you want, then go for it. Just don't wear me out too much."

"Oh, trust me. I'll wear you out to the point where you can't do anything but love me." Marika declared with fire in her eyes.

After their conversation, the two started doing their homework. Whenever Raku struggled on a problem, Marika was able to help Raku flawlessly and her explanations made perfect sense.

Once finished with the homework, Raku beamed "Wow, that went by fast! You should think about becoming a tutor, Marika. You were incredibly helpful."

Blushing from the praise, Marika couldn't help but smile "Do you really mean it? B-Boy, it feels great to get praise from you, Rakkun! I'm so darned happy!"

As Marika got a little carried away, Raku got up and said "I know it's early, but I'm really tired from staying up so late last night so I'm heading to bed."

Snapping out of her happy thoughts, Marika had a question for Raku before he retired to bed "Hey, Raku? Can I asked you something?"

Stifling a yawn, Raku replied "I've been asked so many questions today, but one more won't hurt. What do you want to know?"

"Before we started homework, you told me to be myself. So I was curious, what comes to your mind when you think of me?" Marika asked with longing in her eyes.

Scratching his cheek, Raku took a few moments to think of a response "When I think of you, I see somehow who exerts more effort than anybody else. You do all of these incredible things on a daily basis and you're always so energetic. Let's see here… oh! You're also really passionate too; although, most of that passion is used on a guy like me. I also think you're beautiful and-" Raku stopped his rambling once the word beautiful came out accidentally.

"Did… did you just… call me beautiful?" Marika stuttered as her face became crimson.

So many thoughts and feelings were being discovered by Raku who was shocked by most of them. It was at this very moment where Raku finally started viewing Marika more as a woman than anything else. He couldn't take it back, after all, she truly was beautiful in his eyes. Of course, it was too embarrassing to repeat the word, so he simply nodded.

"W-Well, I reckon I'm overdue on sleep. G'night, Rakkun." Marika quickly said as she darted towards her room at super speed.

Once Raku was left alone in the living room, he remembered "I almost forgot, but Marika can get really embarrassed as well."

In another household completely, a certain teenage boy was still up from his thoughts.

" _Was it really okay to push Raku like that?"_ Shuu thought to himself and then flashbacked to a recent memory.

-Flashback to one week ago-

"I believe these are all of the books that were requested. I'm sure to get praised from Yui- I mean Ms. Kanakura! Maybe I'll even get bonus points on the next test!" Shuu voiced his inner thoughts as he carried documents Yui requested for. It was after hours so Shuu wasn't worried about anyone hearing his motives.

Once Shuu got to the door of his homeroom class, Shuu was about to open it but heard Yui discussing something with another person.

"What can you tell me about Marika's condition? I need to know in case she has an episode during class so I can respond appropriately." Shuu heard Yui say from the other side of the door.

There was another voice that belonged to a man and he replied "Well, Ms. Kanakura, I'm going to be blunt with you. Marika won't be part of this class for much longer. You see-"

After the father of Marika's long speech, Shuu felt numbness in his arms as the documents fell and littered the floor.

-End of flashback-

"No… Raku has to make a decision before Marika is taken away." Shuu muttered to himself.

* * *

 **Author's notes- I think this is the first time things didn't go as plans in terms of following my outline. You see, the date was SUPPOSED to be included in this chapter, but once I hit 5000 words I realized that there was a point where I should've stopped and I have clearly passed it. Sorry, but I hope you're looking forward to the date... in the next chapter. In all honesty, I'm not too happy with this chapter. I mean, I like it, but it's something that could've been better. To make up for this, I'll try getting out the next chapter as quickly as I can and not take a year to update. Also, chapter 4... things are going down in chapter 4. I can tell it's going to be incredibly difficult to write, but it SHOULD be awesome (unless it gets pushed back like the date, in which case never trust anything I say ever again).**

 **Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I'm celebrating today by posting this chapter, doing homework, studying... going to work... Okay, so I'm single haha. I mean, "Single? No! I'm in a relationship with freedom!"**

 **Anyways, I will see YOU... in the next chapter. BYE BYEE!**


	3. Reason For Her Love

_Reason For Her Love_

"What the hell is going on?!" Tsugumi shouted who was on top of a building. Secretly, she had been tailing Raku all day until he entered an apartment complex.

"I see no point in hiding it any longer, Black Tiger." Honda responded calmly who stood between Tsugumi and the apartment Raku entered. Explaining a part of the situation, Honda stated "Raku is sharing an apartment with milady, Marika."

Becoming flustered at the thought of Raku sharing an apartment with another girl, Tsugumi exclaimed "S-Sharing?! There's no way Raku would do something like that. H-He already has milady, Chitoge!"

"Yes, but you see, Raku and Chitoge aren't in the happy relationship you think they are." Honda started and proceeded to fill Tsugumi in on their forced relationship.

"No way…" Tsugumi muttered in disbelief. Regaining the fire in her eyes, the Black Tiger pointed her gun at Honda and exclaimed "You're trying to startle me to the point where I let down my guard, aren't you?!"

Sighing, Honda went on "You're free to think whatever you want; however, I insist you confirm things with Chitoge first before taking any action."

While Tsugumi was enraged with these new developments, she also knew it would be completely reckless to act in the heat of the moment. Calming down, Tsugumi stood down "Fine. I'll leave for now, but just tell me one thing. Why is Raku living with Marika?"

Looking away, Honda explained "Marika won't be living here for much longer. You have heard of the Tachibana's family lineage, haven't you? Marika is next in line in that lineage. Therefore…"

-The next day-

It was an average winter's day. It was cold, yet not terribly freezing with endless clouds covering the sky.

"So… where do you want to go?" Raku inquired to his roommate.

Looking up at the clouds, Marika replied "I'm not sure. I was hoping you would have some thoughts, Raku."

"You ask me on a date and make me decide on where to go? You sound like Chitoge." Raku complained who didn't know where to begin planning a date with Marika.

Raku's statement got Marika's blood boiling who became serious "You've gone done it now. I didn' wanna have to do this, but you leave me no choice! It's time for-

Marika epically takes out a book and shows it off to Raku.

"the dating rulebook!" Marika finishes with a huge smile.

" _Here we go."_ Raku mentally sighed.

Opening the book, Marika read aloud "Step one... Wait, this doesn't make any sense… Let's just move on to step two… We already did that." Marika began to read more frantically as she continued "Let's see here… Aha! Step three: put on nice clothes to show you care!"

Raku saw Marika lifting her eyes slightly from the page with longing of praise in them. Marika looked rather charming today so Raku felt inclined to compliment her.

"Well, you do look really nice today, Marika." Raku scratched the back of his head as he said this.

Clearly satisfied with the comment, Marika blushed and she beamed "Really?! I always put effort into looking beautiful as womanly possible for your sake, but to actually get praised for it means the world to me. Thank you, Raku! You look quite handsome today." Marika last comment added a slight blush on Raku's face.

Returning her attention back on the book, Marika started to read "Okay! Time for step-"

"Hahaha! What is this?!" Raku laughed as he started reading the book as well.

Seeing the love of her life laugh so innocently gave Marika a warm, bubbly feeling inside of her heart who started laughing as well.

Even though he stopped laughing, the warm smile on his face hadn't vanished as he suggested "How about we go to the mall for now? There's quite a few activities and food choices there."

"Sounds like a wonderful idea. I hear they have an interesting miniature golf course that I've been meaning to go to." Marika agreed happily.

Once the two arrived at the mall, Raku took Marika's suggestion into account and said "Hey, do you know where this miniature golf course is?"

"I do. Allow me to lead the way." Marika answered as she took Raku's hand.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey." Raku repeated the word "hey" for emphasis and asked "Why are you grabbing my hand?"

Turning to look at Raku, Marika blushed slightly and started "Because…" Looking towards the ground, Marika admitted "It makes me feel at ease with so many people around. If it bothers you-"

"Nah, don't worry about it. This is a… a date, after all. If it makes you feel better, then I'm fine with it." Raku reasoned who was almost used to holding a girl's hand by now. Key word: almost. Unknown to Marika, Raku's heart started beating faster as a small blush appeared on his face.

"There really are no bounds on your kindness, Raku. Thank you." Marika smiled as her uneasiness went away.

Once the two reached the putt-putt golf, Raku couldn't help but be impressed.

"Wow, I've never seen a glow in the dark miniature golf course." Raku examined the course.

"I saw it the last time I came in and I just knew it was a first experience I wanted to share with you." Marika explained who smiled at Raku's reaction to the course.

The two bought their putters and made their way to the first hole. Raku went first and took two strokes to sink his ball into the hole.

"Great job, Raku!" Marika beamed who was impressed.

Scratching his cheek, Raku answered "I wasn't all the great. It's just the first hole. Anyways, you're up."

Taking her turn now, Marika's first stroke landed her ball less than halfway down the lane. Her next stroke knocked her ball off the course. Her next few shots followed this pattern.

"Why… won't you… go in the blasted hole..?" Marika asked her ball in frustration which was still a fair amount of distance from the hole.

"Did you try going to your 'happy place'?" Raku suggested.

"What?" Marika asked in confusion.

Sighing, Raku walked towards Marika and said "Never mind. I'll help you out."

Standing behind Marika, Raku grabbed Marika's putter to help guide her and instructed "When you golf, you want to firmly plant your feet and have a firm grip on the putter with your shoulders somewhat locked. I don't know if it's what professionals do, but it helps my accuracy. Also, when you're close to the hole like this, light taps will get the job done. Oh, and you want to line up the line on your putter with the ball."

Getting slightly flustered, Marika blushed "Rakkun is so close."

Realizing the extent of his closeness, Raku instantly let go of Marika and backed up. "S-Sorry! I didn't realize I was so-" Raku began to apologize.

"I didn't want you to let go." Marika told Raku as she continued to eye the ball because she was too embarrassed to look at him.

A blush rising to his face as well, Raku returned to Marika's back and once again grabbed the putter. Eyeing the ball, Raku whispered "Okay, but only for this one stroke."

Feelings of intense warmth spreading throughout her body, Marika planned her shot aloud "Okay. Firmly plant feet, firm grip on putter, shoulders locked, line up the putter, and lightly tap."

Once Marika did all of the above, the ball sank flawlessly in the hole.

"You did it!" Raku beamed with delight. It wasn't exactly the easiest shot so he was impressed Marika could pull it off with a simple set of instructions.

Completely overjoyed by their teamwork, Marika embraced Raku and beamed as well "We did it, Raku!"

For the first time, Marika's embrace was actually welcomed and Raku went as far as to hug her as well. After a few seconds, the embarrassment kicked in and Raku let go of Marika and stuttered "W-Well, I guess we should continue then."

The significance of the moment wasn't lost on Marika who noted "That's the first time since we were kids that you've actually returned a hug."

Raku couldn't think of anything to say to this, so he simply scratched the back of his head and tried to hide his blush.

The two continued the course and Marika stood her ground pretty well even as the course increased with difficulty. In the middle of Marika's turn, the two heard a pair of random long-haired girls talking about them.

"Hey, do you see those two? That girl is so gorgeous! She's probably only on a date with that guy out of pity."

"Hahaha! No way! That has to be her brother or something!"

Hearing it all before, Raku shrugged it off and turned his attention back on Marika and was shocked at what he saw. With her charged stance, Raku wouldn't be surprised if Marika intended on driving her ball four hundred yards. There was no trace of a smile left on her lips and her eyes were burning like a wildfire that consumes everything in its path.

"H-Hey, Marika? Maybe you shouldn't-" Raku tried persuading Marika from doing something hasty, but it was too late. Marika swung the putter with fierce strength and sent the ball ricocheting a countless number of times until it finally flew just a few inches from the two girls' faces and slamming into a wall, leaving a huge indent.

Biting her nail, Marika hissed silently "Dammit, I missed." Raku then watched with horror as Marika, whose facial appearance could only be described as "pissed off", made her way towards the two frightened girls.

Forcing an obviously fake smile, Marika "apologized" "I'm sorry, I believe I had just a tad too much power on my swing. Excuse me." Marika aggressively pushed the two out of her way to retrieve her ball which was lodged in the wall. Once claiming her ball from the wall, a few fragments from the wall fell to the floor.

As Raku watched Marika retrieve her ball, he couldn't help but feel that Marika was going too overboard; however, knowing that she stood up for him had a profound impact on him. Whenever he was with Chitoge and others talked down on him, Chitoge always laughed. Marika is the only one to defend him like this and he greatly respected her for it.

Once Marika returned, Raku lightly scolded "You went too far, Marika. Somebody could've gotten hurt."

Her expression calming down some, Marika answered "That was the blasted point; however, I will try behaving myself for the remainder of the day."

Still having something to say, Raku placed a hand on her head and finished "What you did was incredibly reckless… but it was also really sweet of you, Marika. Thank you."

All of the traces of anger vanished from Marika's face and her warm and gentle smile returned. At least something good came out of her rage.

Once the two got to the last hole, Marika suggested "I just had an idea. Let's take our turn at the same time."

Getting into Marika's idea, Raku added "Yeah, it can be a race to see who sinks their ball first!"

The two got into position and lined up their shots. "One… two… three!" The two counted in unison and stoked at the same time. After both balls traversed the complicated lane of obstacles, they both landed in the hole, seemingly at the same time.

"…WHAT?!" Raku and Marika yelled in unison, forgetting that they were in a public place. To them, it was like a miracle just took place. Not only did they not get a hole-in-one until now, but for their strokes to sink into the hole at indiscernibly similar times.

After everything that happened on the miniature golf course, the two were overdue for a break and got lunch at the food court.

Marika, who had a blissful smile on her face, beamed "I can't believe we sank our putts at the same time. I think that's what you call destiny, Raku."

"Instead of saying embarrassing things, I think you should eat your food before it gets cold." Raku answered tiredly, who was mentally exhausted after all the excitement and the earlier rampage Marika went on.

Looking at her food, Marika agreed "You're right, Raku. Forgive me, I guess I'm just a little too happy right now." Having one last thing to say, Marika picked up a french fry and mumbled "Still, I have to say that those girls from earlier are ruining my near perfect mood. Who are they to judge another person by their outward appearance? Seriously, it's always them damned longed-haired girls that gets my blood boiling."

"Let me tell you something I told Chitoge once." Raku started and proceeded to share one of his beliefs with Marika "'If you hit someone as worthless as them, then you're just admitting that you're the same as them. Don't be so lame.' Well, you never actually hit them, but you did acknowledge their lame words. If you let those kinds of people bother you, then they'll always win. I know you're better than that."

While Marika took Raku's speech to heart, she had one thing to say "I truly think you're right on that matter, Raku. Usually, I wouldn't let those kinds of people bother me; however, if someone attacks you, even if it's verbally, I can't help but get, well, angered. I'll try shutting out arrogant, insults to humanity, scum of the earth, people from this point forward."

With that, the two began eating their food without another word. After finishing her food, Marika stated "Raku, I have a question that I would like to ask you."

"Ask away." Raku replied who was taking a drink of his soda.

"Do you… Do you love Chitoge?" Marika asked as she looked away.

Somehow, Raku almost choked on his drink as he struggled to say "H-Huh?! What?!" Taking a good look at her, Raku saw that Marika was afraid with her eyes avoiding his and she had an obviously nervous facial expression. Despite her fear, she still wanted to know so Raku found himself unable to reject her question.

"To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm in love with Chitoge; however, I can't deny that I like her." Raku confessed as he looked away as well. Once Raku glanced at her face, Raku saw that she was actually quite happy.

"That's better than I expected. If you're feelings haven't outright blossomed into love, then that makes it easier to compete against her and Kosaki. Take it from me, Raku, you'll know when you're in love with someone." Marika concluded with a smile.

Getting a weird vibe, Raku admitted "You know, it's weird. For some reason, it feels like you've already asked me that question. Right here, in this very spot."

"I have that feeling too, Raku. That's also why I asked." Marika confessed to having that same feeling. Wanting to explore the mall, Marika smiled "Let's take a break from the serious talk and progress with our date."

The two started visiting shops at random and browsed items until they visited a very unique store.

" _Well this place is pretty cool. I didn't know they sell lava lamps and party lights. Maybe I'll get something."_ Raku thought as he browsed one section of the store.

"Raku, what do you think about these?" Raku heard Marika ask. Turning to face her, Raku saw that she was holding very, and I mean VERY suggestive undergarments. Although there was a slight blush on her face, there was no hint of shame in her wide smile.

Already getting flustered by her selection, Raku looked at the rest of the store and realized this wasn't the kind of store he thought it was and he made a mad dash to leave.

Once they browsed another store, Raku complained "Geez, Marika, I knew you were crazy, but I didn't think you would take me to a store like that."

Giggling, Marika replied "Now, Raku, we aren't children anymore. Having interest in those kinds of things is completely natural at our age."

Deciding not to answer, Raku simply picked out a scarf and a plush cat to purchase.

Once the two left the store, Marika questioned "Did you buy that scarf because you were cold? If you asked me, I would've bought you one."

Shaking his head, Raku answered "I didn't buy a scarf because I was cold, but because you seemed cold while walking outside, so here." Raku held out the plush cat and scarf towards Marika.

Not expecting gifts, Marika blushed and beamed with a bright smile "Thank you very much, Raku! I'll cherish them!"

Seeing that Marika's hands were now full, Raku apologized "Oops, I forgot to get a bag for them. Sorry about that, I'll go ask for one."

Stopping Raku, Marika insisted "No, that's okay, Raku. To be honest, I'm excited to wear the scarf, so I wouldn't mind putting it on now. The only problem is I can't put on the scarf while holding this plush, so can I ask you to put in on?"

Happy that Marika was satisfied with her gifts, Raku agreed with a smile "Sure." Marika held the cat plush happily against her chest as Raku wrapped the scarf around her.

"How do I look, Raku? Marika asked once he finished wrapping the scarf around her.

"You look… very pretty. Wait, you already asked me that question earlier." Raku answered honestly. Although admitting these kinds of things to her was still embarrassing, he found it much easier this time to answer. Were things starting to become more natural between him and Marika?

" _I feel much closer to Marika now."_ Raku mentally noted as he saw a dazzling smile appear on Marika's face.

Looking at the cat plush, Raku asked "So, what are you going to name him?"

Deep in thought, a light bulb went off in Marika's head who suggested "Oh, I know! How about Raku-"

"Do not call it 'Raku-sama'. Be more creative." Raku cut Marika off who didn't want everything she owned to be named after him.

Thinking it over again, Marika came up with another name "How about... Frisk? That sounds like a cat's name to me."

"If that's what you want to call him, then go for it. I like that name." Raku agreed and Marika started humming to herself. Although it wasn't the name she wanted, Frisk was a great name as well.

After browsing a few more shops, Raku asked "Is there anything else you wanted to do?"

"Well, there is one more thing I had in mind." Marika answered and took Raku's hand to guide them.

"A… photo booth?" Raku asked once they arrived at one.

"It's always been a dream of mine to enter one with you." Marika answered back with a wide smile.

"Well… I guess I'm okay with it." Raku replied who was a tad nervous.

After entering the booth together, Raku couldn't help but feel his personal space diminish. It was slightly cramped and Raku couldn't help but push up against Marika's side.

"S-Sorry about this." Raku apologized for invading Marika's personal space.

"Oh, Raku, you should know by now that I enjoy feeling your touch." Marika reassured him and her eyes were practically sparkling.

"Please select a theme." The two heard the machine say.

"Oh, these have certain themes? I haven't used a photo booth since middle school so I forgot." Raku explained as he browsed through the themes. Finding one he liked, Raku asked "Hey, Marika? How about-"

"This one!" Marika beamed as she aggressively press the "in love" theme.

"Great selection! Get ready for your first pose!" The machine instructed.

"Y-You idiot! W-We can't do that!" Raku strongly disagreed with a blush but he knew there was no going back.

"I think it's appropriate since this is a date. Besides, none of the other themes interested me." Marika reasoned as that crafty yet charming smile formed on her lips.

"There's a huge difference between going on a date and being in love!" Raku shouted in his nervousness.

Fortunately for Raku, the first two pictures were normal with the first one being a normal picture and the second being a silly picture where Marika pushed her plush cat against Raku's cheek. However…

"Excellent photo! Now, please get in a lovey-dovey pose."

Before Raku had any time to react, Marika's head was leaning on his shoulder and her arms were wrapped securely around him.

"5… 4… 3… 2…" The machine counted down.

"Hurry!" Marika insisted as the clock ran down.

At the last moment, Raku wrapped one of his arms around Marika and put on a smile just in time.

"Excellent photo! Now, please kiss your partner."

This time, both Raku and Marika blushed with Raku protesting "Nope, nope, not happening."

"5… 4…" The machine counted down once again.

"Wait, Raku! You've got some food still on your face!" Marika gasped.

"Wait, what?! Has it been there this whole time?!" Raku yelled who was afraid of it ruining all of the photos.

"3… 2…"

Moving closer to Raku, Marika placed her hand on one of his cheeks, another hand on the back of his head, and planted her lips on his forehead. Once the picture was taken, Marika whispered affectionately "I got it off, Raku."

"Excellent photo! Your photos are printing now. Have a nice day!" The machine said.

After all the excitement, Raku fell out of the booth and landed on the floor and felt too dazed to get up.

Startled by the sight of Raku laying face first onto the floor, Marika held out her hand and asked with worry "R-Raku? Are you okay?! Here, let me help you up!"

Taking her hand, Raku accepted her help wordlessly and stood once more; although, his face was absolutely crimson.

Seeing Raku's blush, Marika giggled "I guess that's another victory for me. I believe that's the third time I've tricked and kissed you."

Once the pictures came out, Raku took a good look at the pictures. Raku couldn't help but feel like this simple strip was incredibly dangerous; after all, if Chitoge's mafia family found this, this could brand Raku a cheater and start a war out of vengeance.

Besides feeling dangerous, Raku couldn't help but like the pictures a lot. Sure, it was incredibly embarrassing, but seeing Marika enjoy herself in the photos gave them a very charming aspect to them. Besides… Raku admitted that he enjoyed being so closed to her and the third and fourth pictures made his heart skip a beat.

" _Wait a second. Does this mean I like..?"_ Raku contemplated as he turned his attention from the photos to Marika. There was a very gentle smile and blush on her face as she held her hand to her heart. Shocking to Raku, tears also ran down her face.

Rubbing the tears out of her eyes, Marika smiled "Oops, it looks like I've gone done it now. Sorry about the waterworks, Rakkun. It's just been so long since I've been this happy."

"Oh, umm, you don't need to apologize, Marika. I'm just glad you weren't upset or anything." Raku answered back who panicked for just a second.

"Raku?" A familiar voice called out gently.

Marika and Raku found Chitoge and Kosaki standing just a few feet away from them.

"Oh… hey guys." Raku uttered hopelessly.

Taking a quick glance at the pictures in Raku's hand, Chitoge gave Raku a cold look and said to Kosaki "We should go."

Seeing the photos as well, Kosaki blushed and agreed "O-Okay."

Raku watched helplessly as Kosaki and Chitoge walked away with the wrong idea… or the right one?

" _No, no. It's definitely the wrong idea. We may be on a date, but we're not in love or anything… right?"_ Raku reasoned with himself but couldn't help but wonder his feelings for Marika.

"We… we should probably go home now. It's starting to get late." Raku said to Marika.

As the two walked home, Raku kept taking a look at Marika who had the guiltiest expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Marika?" Raku ended the silence.

Looking away, Marika apologized in almost a whisper. "I've caused you so much trouble, Raku. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

Worried that Marika was about to cry, Raku assured her "Hey, don't worry about it. I had a really fun time today. I don't regret any of it, I promise. I'll talk to them about it at school on Monday."

Although Raku's words made some impact, Marika knew that he was still in a delicate situation with Chitoge now and made things complicated between him and Kosaki as well. "I'm sorry that I'm so aggressive with you. I'm selfish, I know, but I really do love you, Raku. That's why I'm like this." Marika continued her apology and tried explaining herself.

"Geez, there you go again." Raku complained as a blush once again appeared on his face. "If you keep embarrassing me so much, my face is going to stay red." Raku chuckled despite the embarrassment.

Raku's comment made Marika feel a little better who giggled. Feeling warmth in her hand, Marika looked down and saw Raku's hand holding hers.

"This is our first date and I don't want to end it with you sad." Raku smiled as he scratched the back of his head frantically.

Marika's heart skipped a beat. For the first time, she wasn't making the first move. Noticing an error in Raku's reasoning, Marika pointed out "This is actually our second date."

"W-Well then, this is our first date that I haven't been forced into." Raku corrected himself and this caused them both to laugh a little.

The two continued walking silently until Raku asked a question he had been wondering for a very long time "Hey, Marika, why do you… why you love me?"

Marika has been expecting this question for a while and warned "To answer that, I have to tell you some, well, unpleasant things. To be honest, I want you to know, but I just want to make sure you're fine with a heavy answer."

Raku simply nodded which signaled Marika to continue "I'm just going to come out and say it, Raku. I wasn't supposed to live past childhood. The life I had before I met you wasn't a life worth living. Everyone took pity on me and treated me like I was going to die the next day. Surrounded by so much talk of death, I didn't even feel like I was alive, like my life was just an error that death would soon correct. Then, one day you came in through my window and showered me with something I never experienced before, friendship. You were the first person besides my dad to treat me like a living human being. Beyond that, you were so kind to me to the point where I became addicted to you. When you went home after you visited me for the first time, I found myself eagerly awaiting your return, and that's when it hit me. I realized that for the first time in my life, I wanted to live. My mother may have given me life, but after it was stolen, you gave it back to me. For that, I will always love you, Raku."

After Marika's long speech, Raku couldn't help but be completely speechless. A painful feeling appeared in Raku's chest and he continued looking at the gentle smile on Marika's face. Just thinking that Marika went through all of that as a child and how she thought her existence was a mistake made Raku's heart ache.

Wrapping his arms around Marika softly, Raku whispered "You've been through so much, haven't you? I'm sorry that I didn't spend much time with you back then, but I promise things are different now. I'll support you all of the way from here on out."

Marika's vulnerable spot was hit yet again as tears started welling up in her eyes. Wrapping her arms very tightly around Raku, she started weeping into his chest.

"R-Raku… Rakkun!" Marika sobbed the name of the love of her life. Seeing Marika in her current state was too much for Raku who started shedding tears as well as he held her closer.

After what seemed like a long time to say the least, the two ended the embrace.

"Thank you, Raku. I really needed that." Marika broke the silence with her whisper.

Embarrassment kicking in, Raku answered "Oh, well, you know, it wasn't much."

Shaking her head, Marika wiped away the last of her tears and replied "If it wasn't much, then I wouldn't have cried as much as I did. It seems you've shed some tears as well."

Thinking he did a great job at hiding it, Raku became flustered and asked "H-How did you know?! I didn't make a single noise!"

Placing her hand on Raku's cheek, Marika answered "I just… know these things. It was barely felt, but I know you were quivering. Also, you lied about not making a sound. It was just once, but I heard you sniffle."

"I was shaking from the freezing temperatures and I think I'm coming down with a cold." Raku looked away as he said this because he was embarrassed by Marika's touch.

"Then your red eyes?" Marika pointed out as she rubbed Raku's cheek.

"…I caught something in my eyes, that's all." Raku retorted once again.

"Oh? And what did you catch in your eyes?" Marika asked curiously.

"…Tears." Raku answered who finally gave up on hiding the fact.

"You really are adorable, Raku." Marika giggled as she lightly poked his cheek.

Feeling incredibly embarrassed after Marika's teasing, Raku took her hand and murmured "Let's just get home before I really do catch a cold."

"Okay!" Marika beamed and let Raku lead the way. Having one last thing to say, Marika added "Hey, Raku? Thank you for crying for me."

"Anytime." Raku simply responded who started scratching the back of his head.

Once the two made their way back, the sun was already dipping below the horizon. It was Marika's turn to make dinner that night and she went into the kitchen to prepare food.

Hearing the humming of a girl and the chopping of food, Raku came out of his room.

"Hey, are you preparing dinner already?" Raku questioned.

Happy to see Raku, Marika smiled "Yes, I figured since we ate lunch especially early today that you would be hungry and-"

 _Growl_

Her face becoming crimson from the growling of her stomach, Marika stuttered "A-And I reckon I'm pretty darned hungry too."

A soft smile forming on his face, Raku said "You sound pretty hungry. I have an idea. Let's make a ton of food so we know we'll get stuffed!"

"It might take a while for me to prepare such a feast. Besides, don't you think eating so much is bad for you?" Marika questioned whose blush softened.

Shaking his head, Raku answered "I think it's okay to let loose and eat a ton of food every once in a while. Also, it won't take that long if two people cook."

"You mean you'll..?" Marika questioned with excitement and sparkling eyes.

Giving her a thumbs up, Raku volunteered "You can count on me. To be honest, the skill I'm proud of the most is my cooking ability, but you've proven to me that you're just as good if not better than me in that regard. I think it would be fun to let loose and make a ton of food with you."

For some reason, Raku was in an excellent mood and only wanted to make his day brighter. To be honest, it wasn't about feasting on so much food; but rather, it was about cooking with someone he considered an equal. It was also about spending more time with Marika, but he would never admit that.

The next hour was accompanied by smiles and laughter as the two cooked joyfully together. Once the food was done, they realized that they might've overdone it a bit.

"This could feed a family of four…" Raku murmured who felt ashamed of himself for getting so carried away.

"Well, at least there's no shortage of food for us… Hehe." Marika laughed at their own demise for she knew there was no way they could finish all of the food.

An idea popping into her head, Marika called out "Time to call in the support. Honda!"

"Yes, milady?" Honda answered as she popped out from one of the kitchen tiles in the floor.

"Whoa!" Raku yelled in shock who was still not used to Honda's crazy entrances.

Pointing towards the food, Marika ordered "It seems Raku and I have made too much food. Please take whatever you can, but don't be wasteful. That's Raku's pet peeve."

"Yes, milady." Honda answered and took a little over a third of the food and left through the hole in the kitchen floor.

"She sure does… eat a lot." Raku commented, seeing that a lot of food had been taken.

"Honda doesn't eat that much. Knowing her, she has a way of putting that food to good use." Marika pointed out.

The two looked at the remaining food which seemed a lot more manageable but still a challenge to finish.

"Well, Marika, I will try carrying the team by eating most of this." Raku sacrificed himself and he started eating.

"Don't eat too much, Raku. I'll help out the best I can." Marika said with conviction as she started eating as well.

After a long dinner, they surprisingly finished all of the food. Raku was leaning back in his chair while holding his stomach and Marika had her head down on the table.

Still shocked by the whole thing, Raku thought with disbelief " _She ate just as much food as me."_ Still feeling pain in his stomach, Raku couldn't help but laugh at the situation "Marika, please, stop me the next time I come up with such a terrible idea."

"Will do." Marika murmured and lifted her head off the table. Because Raku's smile was contagious, Marika found herself smiling as well.

-On top of a random building-

"Why did you call me out here, Honda?" Tsugumi asked as her hand firmly grasped her pistol.

Not on guard at all, Honda held out a plastic container and asked "Would you like something to eat?"

Just like that, the two found themselves sitting down to eat the food Honda brought.

"I have to admit, this is really good. Is this your way of buying my silence?" Tsugumi questioned as she continued to eat.

"Your loyalty to Chitoge isn't something that can be bought off. The only reason as to why I am doing this is because Raku and milady prepared too much food." Honda answered back as she took small bites out of her food.

A blushing rising to her face, Tsugumi stuttered "T-This was made by R-Raku?!"

"And milady." Honda added. Looking at the flustered Tsugumi, Honda went on "There's one other reason. Pretty soon, we'll surely clash in battle with you protecting Chitoge and I protecting that which milady cherishes. I just wanted you to know that it's nothing personal."

Her embarrassment completely erased, Tsugumi asked "Why do you say that? I don't plan on telling Claude or anyone else. You were right. Milady told me that her relationship with Raku is fake. I hate saying this, but with Marika's family condition, I can't bring myself to interfere."

Looking up at the moon, Honda answered "Well, I'm glad you know the truth; however, that won't stop the mafia from engaging the yakuza. With the way things are going, Marika and Raku will be found out soon." Standing up, Honda said her goodbyes "This was a nice talk, but I must be going now. If we do end up fighting each other, I will not fight to kill you. Goodbye."

Before Tsugumi had any time to react, Honda was out of sight.

"The feeling's mutual, ninja of the Tachibana's."

-In Raku's bedroom-

His stomach had settled down and he was having some late night thoughts before going to bed. " _It was bad enough already liking two different girls, but then Marika came into the mix as well. To be honest, I think I like Marika as well. Today proved that after we spent so much time together and I honestly enjoyed every part of it… except for when Marika almost sent two girls to the hospital. I wonder if she'll get the reference if I call her 'Happy'."_

" _Wait, Raku! You've got some food still on your face!"_ Raku recalled an event from earlier today.

Continuing his thoughts with a slight blush, Raku went on " _And then there was that kiss on my forehead. To be honest, I knew what Marika was up to when she said that. So why did I pretend to be ignorant? Did I want her to kiss me?"_

Shaking his head, Raku's previous thoughts were too embarrassing so he switched topics " _So, I like Chitoge, Kosaki, and Marika and they all have keys. I guess I'll have to choose between them. It would be selfish of me to make it an 'everyone loses' situation. Still, there's that one thing that's been bothering me. Well, make that two things that are bothering me."_

" _Out of all the girls, why is Marika the only one you remember from your childhood?"_ Shuu's words crept back into Raku's thoughts.

" _Please decide soon. She doesn't have much time remaining."_ Honda's words intruded on Raku's thoughts as well.

Raku continued his thoughts " _How should I know?! I didn't remember Kosaki or Chitoge, but I remember Mari… And what do you mean 'she doesn't have much time left'?! Is she transferring or something?! Or… is it something else?"_ Coming up with no solutions, Raku retired for the day and went to sleep.

Suddenly, Raku found himself in a hospital bed and he felt a lot… shorter. He was wrapped with bandages and hooked up to medical equipment. There was a short girl with orange hair crying beside his bed.

"Rakkun… Rakkun! Wake up, Rakkun!" The young girl sobbed as she softly held his hand.

Raku wanted to answer her, but he found himself unable to speak and his body wouldn't move either.

"Ma…ri…" Raku used all of his strength to utter her name.

" _Rakkun!"_ A voice that didn't belong to the young girl screamed. It was strange, the voice sounded so far away, yet so incredibly near.

It also sounded so familiar to Raku and his surroundings completely changed. He was back in his bedroom.

"RAKKUN!" Raku heard Marika scream.

As his eyes began to focus, he saw that Marika was laying right on top of him with her arms wrapped tightly around him.

"Mari…ka?" Raku called out her name as his senses started to awaken as well.

"Rakkun…" Marika breathed heavily and started panting.

Initially, Raku's first thought was that this was some sort of scheme for her to be with him, but he quickly realized this wasn't the case. Not only was she breathing really hard, but she was sweating excessively. It was like she had just gotten back from a workout, but Raku knew that Marika was too frail to do such things and that still wouldn't explain her earlier screams.

"Marika, what's wrong?!" Raku panicked at Marika's current state. All Raku got was heavy panting so he shouted "I'll call an ambulance!"

"No! Don't!" Marika shouted and held Raku tighter to stop him.

"But, Marika-"

"Please don't… leave again! Please!" Marika begged in between breaths.

Once Marika lifted her face and showed Raku a face he wouldn't soon forget. Marika's face was full of sweat and tears and her eyes lost some of their color.

"Please stay…" Marika continued to beg as she continued to breathe heavily.

Not having any idea of what was going on, Raku put his trust in Marika and answered "Okay, Marika. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

"Rakkun!" Marika cried out as she continued panting and placed her face on his chest. Raku wrapped his arms softly around Marika and hoped with all of his might that Marika would turn out okay.

Several minutes passed by with Marika steadily calming down. After finally catching her breath, Marika apologized "I'm sorry, Raku… I was having an anxiety attack."

"Are you okay?!" Raku asked with great worry.

Lifting her head from his chest, Marika regained the bright color in her eyes and answered "Yes, I'm fine now."

"Thank goodness." Raku sighed with incredible relief.

Still terrified, Marika asked "Raku… My body is completely exhausted and I won't be able to make it back to my room. And I'm scared… really scared. Please, can I stay here for tonight? I promise, I'm not trying to trick you or anything, I just-"

"Sure, but I can't sleep with you on top of me." Raku answered before Marika could finish. Raku knew most of the situation and he also knew that Marika wasn't deceiving him either. She was truly terrified, and to be honest, so was he. Staying in the same room would be the only way to sleep tonight.

"A-Are you sure?" Marika needed confirmation because she thought her request was impossible to grant.

"Yeah. After what happened, it would make me feel better if you were nearby." Raku answered honestly.

Marika finally ended her fierce grip on Raku who couldn't help but feel incredibly sore. It was like the grip of a gorilla. Raku helped Marika get under the covers and got her a spare pillow.

Once Raku laid down, arms were wrapped softly around him and he felt Marika's forehead on the back of his neck. While this comforted him, it also felt completely inappropriate. Raku was about to ask Marika to let go of him, but he couldn't bring himself to say it because it felt too cruel to a girl who just went through all of that.

"If you need anything, I'll be right here, Marika. Goodnight." Raku whispered to her.

Blushing slightly, Marika whispered back "I will. Thank you for granting my unreasonable request. Sweet dreams, Raku. I love you."

Even after everything, Marika was still able to embarrass him as a blush rose to his face. In a matter of minutes, the two exhausted teens fell asleep.

* * *

 **Author's notes: Well, that was quick. I know I wanted to upload this chapter quickly since the last chapter wasn't the best, but I didn't think I would get this out this early. So this is what it means to be hyped to write a fanfiction. Hope this chapter makes up for the last one, because, in my humble opinion, I think this chapter turned out great. This is the chapter I wanted to post last Sunday so I guess this is a last happy Valentines Day!**

 **Some of you may be seeing a few references in my fanfictions, a lot towards Undertale. I'm now trying to cut down on references because it can ruin the story if used to much, but I think I have a good balance. Who spotted the references in this chapter? There was an Undertale reference, two Happy Gilmore references, I even referenced one of my other fanfictions: "Zawsze In Love With A Stupid Beansprout". There may be other references I unconsciously added too. Oh, and before I played Undertale, I totally thought Frisk was like the ultimate cats name, and I still do. So naming the cat frisk was more about my cat naming preferences rather than a reference to Undertale.**

 **I have made a terrible mistake. In my first chapter's author's notes, I talked about how I make characters address each other by their first names, regardless of their relationship (except if it's student to teacher, or anything like that). So, I found out the other day that I've been messing up Seishiro's name for over a year. I read chapter 204 when Claude said "Get Seishiro" and I asked "Who the heck is Seish- what have I done?!" I just assumed her first name was Tsugumi because everyone else calls her by that, EVEN CHITOGE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Mistakes have been made. To be honest, I feel like it's far too late to correct it, so I'm just going to refer to Seishiro by her last name. SORRY GUYS.**


	4. Letting Go

_Letting Go_

As he slowly awoke, Raku felt discomfort in his head and something warm was holding his right hand.

"You're finally up!" Raku heard a young girl's voice.

Looking to his left, a young orange-haired girl came into view. Tears were racing down her face; however, there was a brilliant smile on her lips.

"Where… am I?" Raku murmured who was still groggy.

"You're in the hospital. Don't you remember what happened?" The young girl asked as she moved her face closer.

"I don't… I don't remember anything. What happened? Who are you?" Raku asked as he tried lifting his body up from the bed but to no avail.

The young girl's expression quickly changed from joyful to shock. Releasing Raku's hand, the girl wept new tears and cried before dashing out of the room "Rakkun, you idiot!"

Suddenly remembering everything about the orange-haired girl, Raku called out "Wait, Mari!"

"Mari!" Raku yelled and found himself in a different room entirely. All of his belongings were there, but the style of the room was western.

" _It was just a dream."_ Raku realized once his senses started waking up as well.

"Raku?" Raku heard Marika call out to him from behind.

Feeling something holding him, Raku looked down and saw a pair of arms wrapped softly around his stomach. Before having time to freak out, Raku remembered the events of last night and turned around to see Marika just centimeters away from his face.

With a soft blush and concern showing on her face, Marika explained "You kept shaking in your sleep and you were calling out my name. Were you having a nightmare?"

"N-No." Raku answered with a blush rising to his cheeks. Remembering Marika's panic attack, Raku became serious and asked "How are you feeling, Marika?"

Smiling out of Raku's concern for her, Marika replied "I'm okay. I think sleeping with you gave me the medicine I needed."

Marika's soft smile and her closeness was too much for Raku whose heart started beating faster. They were laying in the same bed, the gap between their faces was incredibly short, and Marika's smell intoxicated Raku who started blushing madly.

Wild ideas sprouting in her mind, Marika placed her hand softly on Raku's cheek as she lessened the already short gap between their faces.

"H-Hey, now! W-What are you doing?!" Raku stuttered quietly who started panicking.

As Marika's lips drew towards Raku's, they took a detour towards Raku's ear and she whispered "I think I want pancakes for breakfast, Raku."

Once again, Marika teased him to the max. Pulling her face back, Marika couldn't help but giggle at Raku's dazed expression.

Raku had no words to say to this, so he quietly got up and headed towards the kitchen. Before Marika got up, she laid down for just a few more seconds and whispered to herself "It smells like Rakkun."

Things went by normally throughout most of the day. The two had a pancake breakfast and went about their daily routines until the sun was starting to dip below the horizon.

Entering Raku's room, Marika beamed "Hey, Raku? Remember when you promised to massage sunscreen lotion on my body?"

"Oh dear god." Raku shuddered as he remembered his promise.

With an unfaltering look, Marika pressed Raku "Well, I'd like you to fulfill your end of the bargain now. Of course, I'm no longer in need of sunscreen; however, I think a back massage is a nice substitute."

"… Fine, but just a back massage." Raku gave in.

Sitting down with her back facing Raku, Marika instructed "Raku, if you'd kindly take off my shirt."

"Absolutely not!" Raku rejected loudly.

"Do not worry, I'm wearing a bikini under this." Marika reassured her flustered fiancé.

"Why don't you just… Okay, fine." Raku bitterly agreed who carefully and very slowly removed Marika's shirt. Surely enough, Marika was wearing that white bikini top that she wore to the beach that one time.

Laying down on her stomach, Marika requested "Alright, now you can start rubbing the massage oil on my back."

Pouring some of the oil on his hand, Raku gentle applied the liquid to Marika's back.

"Eek!" Marika squealed from the touch of the cold liquid.

On instinct, Raku's hands darted away from Marika's back and asked "Y-You okay?"

Giggling softly, Marika answered "Yes, it's just that my back need to adjust to the cold oil. Please continue."

Obeying her command, Raku's hand returned to her back and spread out the massage oil. With her back now covered, Raku asked embarrassingly "So… what do I do now?"

"Proceed with the massage." Marika answered back matter-of-factly.

Raku knew this; however, it felt like he was invading Marika's personal space which seemed ridiculous since she's the one who asked for the massage. Still, touching and rubbing a girl's back was uncharted territory for Raku who had the innocence of a toddler.

"Okay, here I go." Raku said as he proceeded with the massage. Throughout the massage, Raku heard Marika moan which made his face turn scarlet.

After quite a while, Marika ended her paradise "You may stop now, Raku. I am completely satisfied."

"Thank goodness. I don't know how much more I could've handle." Raku sighed with relief as he took his hands off of Marika's back.

Remembering all of the sounds that escaped her lips, Marika asked "I wonder, Raku, have you ever heard those kinds of sounds from another girl before?"

"No, I haven't! You know, you shouldn't dance around those kinds of subjects with a guy. First you walk in on me while I'm in the shower, then you show me weird undergarments at that store, and now you're making those weird noises. Guys might try doing something to you if you keep acting like this."

Marika felt Raku's concern and that made her happy; however, Raku didn't understand so she explained it for him "I only act this way towards you, Raku. You're not a bad person, so I know you won't take advantage of my advances. Besides… when you return my affections, I hope you do try… doing something to me."

 _Thump thump thump_

"Marika…" Raku uttered almost speechlessly as his heart started beating faster again. Raku knows that Marika holds great affection towards him, but he just never thought her feelings went that far.

Getting up, Marika faced Raku and added to her previous statement with a soft blush "I do love you, Raku, and I'm willing to become one with you whenever you are ready."

There wasn't a hint of a tease or deception in Marika's words and Raku knew that she was being completely serious. Once again, he found himself not knowing what to say. What could he say to a girl that was willing to give her body and soul to him?

Using the time to his advantage, Raku got up and made his escape "W-Well, it's my turn to make dinner tonight. You can relax here, Marika."

Right before Raku exited his room, Marika added almost desperately "I would do anything for you, Raku. So when you're about make your decision, at least consider me."

"I will." Raku answered before leaving to make dinner.

Once Raku left the room, Marika looked at the empty floor and whispered "You may come out, Honda."

Entering from the ceiling, Honda landed on the floor softly and answered "Yes, milady."

Still staring at the floor, Marika asked her attendant "Honda… am I doing the right thing? Is it really alright to chase after Raku when I'm about to depart?"

Honda was about to give a response as a subordinate, but then realized giving a personal which would be more relatable to Marika "My mother taught me many things."

Honda's words startled Marika whose eyes widened in shock. Not once has Honda ever talked about her family or personal life.

After letting her introduction sink in, Honda went on with the rest of her story "My mother taught me what it meant to be a ninja. All of my skills and principles were taught to me by her. 'A ninja must always put the mission first', 'a ninja must never show their tears', and 'a ninja must never show any weakness'. My mother taught me many things indeed; however, she never taught me what to do if she never came back. The more Raku becomes attached to you, the more it will hurt him once it's your time to leave."

"… You may leave now, Honda. Thank you for sharing your feelings with me." Marika said softly.

Before leaving, Honda looked at Marika's faltering expression and said "If you need anything, please let me know."

With that, Marika was alone in the room of her beloved. As she clenched her fists, tears raced down her face and she cried "It really does smell like Rakkun in here…"

-The next day at school-

"Hey, honey." Raku gently greeted his "girlfriend".

"We need to talk." Chitoge answered back with a glare.

It was over. Chitoge had just said the infamous four worded statement of death and Raku knew there was no way of escaping. Raku could practically feel the noose around his neck already.

"Tomorrow after class at four. Don't you dare be late." Chitoge warned without looking at Raku.

With a gulp, Raku agreed "O-Okay." Once Kosaki took a seat next to him, Raku greeted formally "Good morning, Kosaki."

"Good morning, Raku!" Kosaki greeted a little too loudly which startled Raku. Kosaki meant to reply quietly, but Raku's voice startled her after the events of Saturday. Calming down, Kosaki apologized with a blush "I-I'm sorry about that."

"N-No worries." Raku answered back who was still a bit startled.

Seeing the awkwardness between Raku and Kosaki, Ruri wondered " _What's gotten into those two? Did something happen between them?"_

The rest of the school day went by normally until Raku got a weird text message from Ruri telling him to meet her in their homeroom classroom.

" _What does Ruri want with me?_ " Raku wondered as he walked towards the classroom. Once he entered, he found Ruri sitting in her desk with nobody else around.

In another part of the school, Kosaki was walking through the hallway and wondered " _I wonder why Ruri asked me to help her study. She's way better at me in every subject so it's weird for her to ask for my help."_

Once Kosaki reached the classroom, she was about to enter but then heard Ruri ask "Do you like Kosaki or not?"

"… _WHAT?! Why is she- who is she- what's going on?!"_ Kosaki started to mentally scream and hid behind the wall to eavesdrop.

Ruri's question caught Raku off guard as he wondered " _G-Geez, Ruri! I know you can be blunt at times, but still!"_ Still not ready to answer, Raku asked "Why are you asking me that?"

" _Oh my god, it's Raku!"_ Kosaki realized with dread.

Going through with her explanation, Ruri said "It seems like you two were in love with each other; however, your feelings seems to have changed lately. You no longer look at Kosaki the same way and things seemed awkward between the two of you today. I'll ask again, do you like Kosaki?"

As much as Kosaki wanted to interrupt the two, her curiosity held her in place as her legs trembled.

This was hard for Raku to answer, mostly because he didn't know the answer. As images of Marika and Chitoge popped into his head, Raku answered "I did."

"You… did?" Ruri asked as her eyes widened a bit.

" _He did..?"_ Kosaki's mind couldn't process Raku's words.

Scratching his head, Raku explained "Yeah, I did. I was in love with Kosaki, but now… I'm in love with somebody else. I've been thinking about my feelings a lot lately, and you're right. I don't look at Kosaki the same way because she isn't somebody I love anymore. Kosaki is… the sweetest and kindest girl I know and I'm so happy to be her friend, but my feelings for her don't go beyond friendship anymore."

Getting irritated, Ruri asked "What the hell changed your mind?"

Once Kosaki understood what Raku was trying to get across, she decided she didn't want to hear anymore and quietly left but that didn't stop her from hearing Raku's response.

"Kosaki has always felt so distant from me."

Once Raku was home, his first instinct was to retire to his bed. Realizing that he no longer had special feelings for Kosaki was a blow to Raku who felt like he had lost something special. The apartment sounded oddly silent for some reason and Marika wasn't in the living room or bathroom but Raku saw that her door was wide open as if it begged for someone to enter.

Entering her room, Raku saw Marika laying in her bed with her eyes closed.

"Are you awake?" Raku asked in a whisper.

Opening her eyes, Marika answered "I am."

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" Raku asked.

Turning to face him, Marika pleaded softly "Please stay."

After hearing her plea, Raku moved closer and took a seat on her bed. Sitting up, Marika inched closer to Raku and wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder.

Putting up no resistance to Marika's closeness, Raku asked "What's wrong?"

Closing her eyes, Marika answered "It feels like everything I do is a burden on you."

"Nah, that's not true. Actually, I really appreciate the things you do for me and I'm not lying. I bet you have some sort of Raku lie detector built into your brain, so you should know I'm telling the truth." Raku replied with a slight chuckle.

"Raku… What if I went far away? Would you still appreciate everything I did for you?" Marika asked with a hint of pain in her voice.

"Where are you going?" Raku asked with a tad of fear in his voice. Once Marika refused to answer, Raku confessed "I don't want you to leave, Marika. I need you here with me."

Not thinking before speaking, Raku instantly regretted adding the last part which embarrassed him greatly as he tried correcting himself "W-Wait, that's not what I meant! What I meant to say was-"

Before Raku could finish, Marika's hold on him became tighter and he could hear her crying on his shoulder.

As Marika continued to cry, she managed to apologize "I don't want… to leave you either. I want to tell you everything… but I also don't want you to know. Please forgive me, I'm so sorry!"

Turning around, Raku wrapped one arm around Marika's waist and the other ran through her hair. Raku had so many questions he wanted answered and fears he wanted to address, but Marika wasn't ready to answer them so he just whispered "It's okay, Marika. You don't have to tell me anything. For right now, just stay here with me."

As Raku held Marika close, he realized so many feelings _"Without a doubt, I really do like Marika. When she's close, I want her to stay close to me. When she holds me, I want to hold her and never let go. When she cries, I feel a deep pain in my heart. Just like I said, it really feels like I need her. If that's the case, then how do I feel about Chitoge? I like both of them, but which one of them do I really love?"_

Once Marika stopped crying, she still held Raku as she said her thanks "Thank you, Raku. Once again, you comforted me while I cried. I really am a crybaby, aren't I?"

"Nah, you're actually pretty strong, Marika. For you to cry like that must mean it's something pretty serious." Raku replied as his fears swirled in his brain.

"Now that I've cleared my mind at bit. Tell me, what's bothering you? I could tell something was wrong since the moment you walked in." Marika asked as she ended the embrace.

Once again, Marika's eyes were dazzling to Raku. Every time, her eyes seemed to see right through him. Scratching the back of his head, Raku answered "Man, you really are all knowing. Well, today I told Ruri that I didn't like Kosaki anymore. It's the first time I admitted that my affections have changed."

"What?!" Marika gasped as she held her hand over her mouth. Raku only nodded to Marika's reaction and had a slight blush on his face.

Marika should've been happy with the elimination of her main rival. Sure, Chitoge was still in the picture; however, Kosaki was always the main threat because she was the one Raku had affections for.

"Are you sure about that, Raku? Kosaki is such a charming girl, after all. She could make you incredibly happy." Marika asked out of her conflicting feelings.

Despite having an obstacle out of the way, Marika couldn't bring herself to be happy. Was she finally afraid of her affections being returned?

Looking away out of embarrassment, Raku answered "Kosaki is an amazing girl, but I've never felt a strong bond with her. She always felt out of my reach and things between us were always so formal and awkward. I really liked her, but we just never… clicked."

"…I see." Marika could only manage to say that. With such startling information and conflicting feelings, she honestly didn't know what to say.

Not knowing what to say either, Raku made his escape "Well, I'm going to go work on homework now. If you need me, I'll be in the dining room."

The two didn't say another word to each other the rest of the night.

Once the next school day began, Raku was dreading his meeting with Chitoge. Never before has Raku wanted class to last just a little bit longer. As promised, Raku made his way towards the school's zoo after his last class was over and found Chitoge who was sweeping up trash with a broom.

"Hey." Raku greeted weakly from the pressure.

Not even turning to face him, Chitoge ordered "Start talking."

" _Oh no, she's still amazingly pissed. Maybe I should've told someone about me meeting with Chitoge today in case I go… missing."_ Raku thought with dread as he gulped. Knowing he couldn't explain everything, Raku tried the best he could "Marika and I were… on a date. We aren't-"

"You two were on a date?" Chitoge asked to clarify as her hair started flying upward.

"Yeah…" Raku answered as he started sweating.

After breaking the broom she was holding, Chitoge held out one of the broken edges threateningly at Raku as she yelled "How dare you! After everything we worked for, you're willing to risk the peace of this entire city just to have some fun with another girl?!"

" _I'm going to die."_ Raku accepted his fate mentally and tried his best to calm his enraged friend "We aren't actually boyfriend and girlfriend! That was just some stupid theme she chose our pictures to be!"

"It doesn't matter!" Chitoge yelled back as she gritted her teeth.

Once Raku found out arguing with her would only get him killed, he tried bargaining "Okay, so what do you want me to do?"

This question caught Chitoge off guard which cooled her anger slightly. Thinking of an answer, Chitoge blushed and whispered "Only look at me."

"Huh?" Raku asked who had no idea what Chitoge was implying.

As her blush intensified, Chitoge spoke more loudly "I want your eyes to only be looking at me! Don't look at any other girls! Don't hang around any other girls unless I'm there! To make things even, I'll do the same for you and if it will make you feel better, I-I'll be y-your… your girlfriend! Your real girlfriend! Nothing would secure the safety of this town better than the two of us dating for real! S-So, Raku, I'm asking you to be my boyfriend!"

Once Chitoge's words finally sunk in, Raku was left with a mad blush on his face as he shouted "Y-You can't be serious!"

"I am! I'll do anything to stay peacefully in this town, even if it means satisfying your stupid desires of having a girlfriend!" Chitoge yelled back who couldn't bring herself to look at Raku.

At first, Raku thought Chitoge's offer was a confession out of love, but then he remembered her talking about keeping the peace.

Collecting his thoughts, Raku answered Chitoge calmly "Chitoge, you don't have to take it that far just for the sake of our families. It's already bad that we're being forced to date, but I won't let you force yourself to date me for real. You shouldn't be in a nisekoi with your first true boyfriend, so I can't accept your offer."

Raku's words were heavy blows to Chitoge who started faltering and shaking. Sure, it was her fault for using the town's peace as an excuse, but Raku should've known her feelings by now. As tears welled up in her eyes, she muttered "You don't get it, Raku. You don't get it at all! You're so stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid stupid, stupid! This isn't about our families or about this town anymore. Raku, I… I…"

"I really hate you!" Chitoge screamed as she slapped Raku across the face. After the slap, Raku got a good look of Chitoge's tearful and somber face before she ran away.

Feeling the part of his face that Chitoge slapped, Raku finally realized "Chitoge… don't tell me you…"

After hearing the rustling of leaves, Raku looked over at a nearby tree and only saw the rustling branches. " _Must've been my imagination."_ Raku thought to himself who thought he had saw someone.

After making his way back home, Raku opened the door was surprised to see Marika sitting in a chair while facing the door as if she had been waiting for him.

"Umm… is everything okay?" Raku asked while feeling uneasy. It didn't help that Marika's hair was covering her eyes.

"You should go back home to your yakuza family." Marika uttered emotionlessly as she continued staring at the floor.

"W-What?!" Raku shouted with surprise. What happened to cause such a change of heart in Marika, he wondered.

"You need to go back home, Raku." Marika asserted as her arms started trembling.

Raku, who just wanted answers at this point, asked "What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on! Now just get out of here! Your stuff's already back at your house so go!" Marika ordered loudly as she stood up.

Raku couldn't catch a break who just got done dealing with a pissed off girl less than an hour ago. If it were anyone else, Raku could've handled it but this was the over-affection Marika.

"Marika, just calm-"

"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" Marika roared as she showed her tear-filled face as she continued to scream "I can't take this anymore! I've tried to win over your affection for so long only to see myself fail time after time! I thought if I continued to be aggressive with you, I'd eventually get my happy ending. These past few days, I felt like we were finally starting to connect on a deeper level, BUT I'M OUT OF TIME! SO JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" By the end, Marika was screaming at the top of her lungs.

After all of her shouting, Marika crouched down and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Raku stood there still dazed by the whole thing and frantically thought of what he should do.

"Please… just go… I'm begging you." Marika managed to utter between sobs.

It seems like Marika decided for him as he quietly exited the room and headed back to his home with a painful and perplexed expression on his face.

"Please do not take her words to heart. She only means well." Honda informed Raku who came out of nowhere yet again.

With everything that's happened, Honda's sudden appearance didn't surprise Raku in the slightest who asked "What do you mean 'she means well'? Can you tell me just what the hell's going on?"

As Honda looked around, she explained "Marika is taking on the role of a villain in order to protect you. It's a clichéd role she inherited from her mother. Marika said she wanted you out of the apartment, when in reality she really wanted you to return to your family. You would be safer there."

"'Safer there'?" Raku questioned who suddenly felt like his life was in danger. It wouldn't be too surprising for the son of a yakuza to be targeted.

Getting close to Raku's ear, Honda whispered "Today I was observing you as per Marika's orders; however, I wasn't the only one observing you two. That guy with the silver hair and glasses, I believe his name was Claude, watched the whole scene and heard everything."

Raku's body went numb and he felt shivers up his spine. Once he regained feeling in his body, Raku was led by his first instinct which told him to run as fast as he could to warn his family. Once there, Raku was out of breath and entered through the gate which wasn't locked anymore.

"Hey, Raku, you shouldn't be back here just yet. Your room is still-" Ryu tried stopping Raku.

"I need to talk to my dad! It's an emergency!" Raku interrupted Ryu as he breathed heavily.

Seeing Raku's panicking, Ryu took him to see his father and left the two alone.

"You look like you just ran a mile. Is everything okay?" Raku's father asked with concern.

"I did just run a mile! There's big trouble! I think four-eyes, I mean Claude, knows about the fake relationship!" Raku panted as he looked at his father for help.

His father's eyes widened a bit as he sighed "Hmm, so I guess the cat's out of the bag. I'm surprised you kept your fake relationship going until now. This isn't your fault, Raku, and I'm sorry to have placed such a heavy burden on you. Don't worry, I'll take it from here."

"What are you going to do?!" Raku asked who trembled with fear. War was going to break out soon.

Scratching the back of his head, Raku's father answered "Well, I'll try diplomacy one more time with the mafia family. Maybe that will at least buy some time. I'll probably talk to Marika's father and see what the police can do to help evacuate the citizens. Raku, stay here for tonight. It's safe here."

"I can't just leave Marika!" Raku roared back who suddenly became really angry.

"That is not necessary. Marika is with her father right now. She'll be safe." Honda said out of nowhere.

Looking to his left, Raku was shocked to see Honda standing there unfazed.

"H-Honda?! Were you following me the entire time?!" Raku asked who was surprising to see her come all of this way without breaking a sweat.

"Yes, I did. I had orders from Marika to make sure you safely returned here." Honda informed Raku.

With a smile on his face, Raku's father greeted "Ah, Honda. It's been awhile. Let me guess, you were there when the secret slip and you also saw Claude observing them, am I right?"

"It's as you say. I then informed Marika's father. After Marika kicked Raku out, she was immediately moved to a more secure location." Honda finished matter-of-factly.

Standing up, Raku's father announced "Well, Raku, it appears that Marika is out of harm's way. I will head over to the mafia's mansion with Ryu and discuss matters with them. Do not worry, they may be the mafia, but they have their standards. They won't thank advantage of the negotiation to assassinate me… probably."

With that, Raku watched helplessly as his father and Ryu departed.

Before departing herself, Honda told Raku "These negotiations are only meant to stall for time so that the citizens can escape. War is sure to happen in the following days. Knowing that, will you stay and fight or will you run away. Neither choice is wrong since you are still only a boy; however, you are the only person who can save Marika now. What will you do, Raku?"

Before Raku had time to react, Honda vanished yet again. With so much going on, Raku went into the guest room to collect his thoughts " _So, war's breaking out. I've dreaded this day for so long, but now that it's happening I'm scared to the point where I can't stop trembling and apparently Marika needs saving too. How is all of this happening?! What am I going to do?! Hell, what can I do?"_

A few hours later, there was a knock on the door which was opened and his father was revealed on the other side. The man stood straight up and had a serious look on his face. Before Raku could even say anything, his father announced "The mafia has declared war on us. The fighting will begin tomorrow after sunset. Raku, tomorrow I'm having Yui drive you to the next town over. I will not have you stay and experience the bloodshed since you're so fixated on becoming a civil servant."

Raku, who came up with no answers on his own, simply nodded. Everything afterwards was like a blur to Raku who just laid down and tried his best to sleep.

-The next day-

As Raku examined the town he was leaving behind through the passenger seat, Raku asked "Is it really alright for me to leave this town?"

"Deep down, I know you love your family, but none of them want you to dirty your hands over this." Yui tried comforting Raku as she continued to drive. Evacuations had already started and the traffic was heavy. They've been stuck at the same light for a while.

Last night, Raku agreed to his father's order without question. Now that he was leaving, he couldn't help but have second thoughts. Raku just knew that Marika was still somewhere in this city and that strongly compelled him to stay. What could he do even if he stayed? He wasn't strong and didn't have what it takes to harm another person.

Still...

"R-Raku! What are you doing?!" Yui yelled as Raku opened his door to get out.

"Sorry, Yui, but I have to stay." Raku smiled before closing his door and dashing off.

Once Raku was a good distance away, he tried coming up with a plan " _If I go back to my dad's house, he'll just send me far away. I still have the key so I can always return to the apartment. After that, then what?"_

"I heard that your family is going to war. Do you want me to help?" Raku heard his best friend offer.

Not startled at all by his best friend's sudden appearance, Raku declined "Thanks, Shuu, but I'll be fine on my own this time."

"You're talking about joining a war between men. Do you know what you're going to do?" Shuu asked as he looked up at the sky.

"I still have time to think of something." Raku answered back.

"What if you don't think of anything?" Shuu continued to pick Raku's brain.

"I don't know. I guess I'll just… do it." Raku chuckled who started feeling better. Deep down, Raku knew what he was going to do. He just needed Shuu to bring it out of him.

Laughing in return, Shuu beamed "That's my best friend for you! Reckless but foolishly brave! Well, I wish you luck with that, Raku. If you end up needing my help, give me a call."

"Will do." Raku smiled back and watched as Shuu walked away.

Once the sun started touching the horizon, all of the innocent civilians had been evacuated. The two factions met face to face with Ryu leading the yakuza family and Claude leading the mafia family.

"This is your last warning! Don't mess with us!" Ryu shouted as he stood in front of all of his men.

"Your families' existence was something we allowed because of the relationship between Chitoge and that despicable boy. Now that we know he's just been toying with her, there's nothing left for you but annihilation." Claude stated matter-of-factly but was hiding an infinite rage.

"Don't belittle our master! Men, charge!" Ryu thrust forward his katana as he roared.

Gunshot sounds, yelling of men, and the smell of gunpowder filled the air that night as the battle progressed.

In her apartment, Marika stared out and watched the battle from the window.

"I'm sorry, Mari, but most of my forces are too busy covering every entrance to the city. The forces left would surely get wiped out." Marika's father apologized to her daughter.

Still looking out at the city, Marika replied coldly "This fight doesn't interest me. All that matters is that Rakkun is safe far away from this hell."

Feeling too powerless to face her, Marika's father simply left the apartment without another word.

"Does this bloodshed not interest you in the slightest?" Honda asked who once again appeared out of nowhere.

Still not taking her empty gaze off of the scene, Marika answered "People die in vain every day. Struggling to the point where you lose everything in vain. Vain… that's the nature of humanity. Honestly, it would've been simpler not to have tried at all. Tell me, what came out of my struggling? I've struggled for so many years and I even put off death for Raku, but what came out of it? Nothing. I will likely never see him again."

Looking at her lifeless master, Honda said "You're right, people do a lot of things in vain. Everyone has dreams, a lot of which do not come true. Still, there's a beauty to their struggling. It's most certainly more inspiring than a person who's given up."

Honda's words hitting a nerve, Marika finally took her gaze off of the battling and shouted to Honda "What the hell did you say to me?!"

"Raku is still in this city. I know this to be true." Honda finally informed Marika.

Honda's statement catching Marika off guard, she exclaimed "T-That's impossible! You told me that his father was sending him somewhere safe!"

"I did say that and I wasn't stretching the truth at all; however, Raku didn't really like the idea of leaving this city." Honda informed Marika.

"It's a damned bloodbath and I know Raku doesn't crave for battle like his family! So why is he still here?!" Marika shouted who started falling apart emotionally.

"I can't say that I know what's going through his head; however, I know for almost a fact that he's here because you're still here." Honda looked directly into Marika's eyes as she said this.

This hit Marika in a very vulnerable spot who was speechless. After everything she did to push Raku away, why was he still here?

Suddenly, Honda started walking towards the door as she said "Don't bother going to him. He wouldn't want to see you the way you are now."

"Where do you think you're going?!" Marika demanded.

Without stopping, Honda replied "You didn't let me finish my story about my mother. Losing her forced me to break several ninja rules and put me in such a disgraceful state; however, I don't regret any of it. I still love my mother and the agony I went through was proof of that. So I'm going to protect what milady loved with all of her heart regardless of what the current you says."

Just like that Honda was gone and Marika was alone in the room. Overcome by weakness, Marika knelt on the floor and cried.

"What should I do? Rakkun is… Rakkun is-"

Back at the mafia's mansion, Tsugumi was keeping watch to prevent anyone from sabotaging the place or harming Chitoge. Once Tsugumi saw the silhouette of a person, she jumped down from her perch and asked "Who are you?"

Once the person came into view, Tsugumi was shocked to find out that it was Raku who was approaching the mansion; however, that didn't mean he could enter and so she pointed a gun towards him and stated "Raku Ichijou, since you are affiliated with the yakuza, I must ask you to leave."

"Not without seeing Chitoge. She's the only one who can end this." Raku answered as he continued moving forward.

Pulling the trigger, Tsugumi fired a warning shot that went past Raku whose face went pale.

"I will not warn you again. Turn away and-" Tsugumi was in the middle of warning Raku until a chain came out of nowhere and almost hit her.

" _A kusari-fundou?! That's…_ " Tsugumi thought as she dodged the attack and stated calmly "So it really is you, Honda."

Appearing right next to Raku, Honda said "Go on ahead, Raku. I'll keep her here so you can meet with Chitoge."

"Thanks, Honda! You're the best!" Raku smiled as he dashed towards the entrance of the mansion.

"No you don't!" Tsugumi shouted as she shot at Raku's leg. Not only was it blocked by Honda's weapon, but it ricocheted back at Tsugumi who dodged once again and pulled out her knife.

Quickly realizing that she would have to defeat Honda first, Tsugumi stated her feelings "You know, it feels like our rolls are switched somehow. Like I was supposed to be the one stalling for time when we fought."

Although Honda didn't answer Tsugumi, she too had the same feeling as she charged towards Tsugumi.

As Raku dashed through the mansion, he finally made it to Chitoge's room and he quickly opened up that door.

"Tsugumi, is that-" Chitoge started to say but then corrected herself "Raku."

Panting, Raku held up his hand and huffed "I just… a few seconds… to catch my-"

 _BAM_

Once Raku was hit across the face, he retreated a few steps backwards and panted "Hey! What are you-"

 _BAM_

This time, Chitoge jammed her fist into Raku's stomach and he collapsed to the floor in pain.

"How dare you come here, Raku!" Chitoge roared as she clenched her fist for another attack.

"Chitoge, please listen to me! I-"

 _POW_

This time, Chitoge pummeled Raku's head with both of her fists.

Lifting Raku by his hair, Chitoge screamed into his face "Just shut up already! Because of you, our families are at war. While our families are fighting to the death, you want to have some sort of shitty tea party with me to talk over things?!" Chitoge then threw Raku against a wall and held him by the collar.

"After all of this, what could you possibly have to say to me?" Chitoge asked as she leaned in threateningly.

Raku, who was already pretty banged up to the point where it hurt to even think, managed to utter "I never noticed it before, but I realized something yesterday. You were… about to say that you loved me, didn't you."

Chitoge froze as a shocked expression came over her face. She was about to start pounding him, but slowly and unconsciously retracted her fist.

Raku continued to tell Chitoge what he noticed "You gave me Valentine's chocolates every year, you called our situation 'fun', you said that the person you like was a 'dense worrywart and a loud-mouth, and above all else, you're fine with our forced relationship despite liking someone. Chitoge, the person you like is me, isn't it?"

Chitoge faltered for a few seconds and lost all of her strength; however, it all quickly came back in a blazing anger as she head-butted Raku several times while shouting "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

Raku, who was used to being physically abused by her, decided to take every hit head on, literally. Once Chitoge stopped, she wrapped her arms weakly around Raku and started to cry "I'm madly in love with you. I treated every fake date like a real one and that's why I've always gave it my all in this fake relationship. I want you to be mine so badly that I take advantage of our fake relationship every day to be close to you. I'm nothing but a gorilla, I know, but if you accept me, then I'll do everything in my power to be a wonderful girlfriend for you. It's not too late to stop our families from fighting. So please, Raku, will you return my feelings?"

Chitoge's confession had a huge impact on Raku who tried desperately to come up with an answer. If Raku said yes, he would have a beautiful girlfriend that he was already really close with and cherished. Even better, their families would stop fighting; however, did he really love Chitoge? What about Marika? The more he thought about it, the closer his answer became until…

"I'm sorry, Chitoge. You're someone I truly care about, but the one I love is…"

"Marika."

Once again, Chitoge was rejected; however, she didn't hide behind their families' as an excuse this time. No, Chitoge was rejected for herself. The heartbreak that followed was unbearable for Chitoge who took it out on Raku as she let go of him and started to snap "I only see one end to this. I'll just have to beat you until you're unconscious and take you as a hostage. That'll surely stop the yakuza from fighting."

"W-Woah! Chitoge, you can't be serious!" Raku exclaimed.

Clenching her fist, Chitoge intended on punching Raku dead in the face.

 _BAM_

It felt like a freight train ran into Chitoge's cheek as she was sent tumbling across the hall.

"Unlike Rakkun, I'm not afraid of hitting a girl!" Marika shouted as she stood in front of Raku protectively.

Completely shocked at Marika's appearance, Raku called out her name "M-Marika?!" As she turned to face him, Raku saw that her eyes were practically on fire as a confident smile appeared on her lips.

"I'm here to save ya, Rakkun!" Marika declared who had a confident aura about her.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** **Well, that escalated quickly. I really didn't put much time in writing about the war between the two factions. I pretty much said "so these guys are fighting now" in just a few lines. I feel bad about devoting so much time to everything BESIDES the two factions fighting; however, I really didn't want to focus on fighting in this fanfiction, well except for the fight between two teenagers because THAT IS WAY MORE INTERESTING THAN A BLOODBATH... right? Probably not.**

 **As for references, I don't think I put many in this. The last chapter felt like a nice filler with some plot progression so I was able to use references to my hearts content. This chapter; however, was mostly plot progression so I felt more restricted. I put in a very general Bleach reference and a reference to the ninja rules in Naruto.**

 **Ah, poor Kosaki. I write because I feel inspired to, and I was planning on giving Kosaki more of a chance; however, I simply didn't want to write about her. Kosaki is a sweetheart and it makes me feel bad about saying this, but she's kinda my least favorite character. I sincerely apologize to the KosakiXRaku fans, but I simply did not know how to make Raku satisfyingly reject her in this.**

 **Ah, poor Chitoge. Just one fanfiction ago she was my waifu and ChitogeXRaku was my main ship, but things change. I still love Chitoge's character; however, she made for a good antagonist at this part of the story. IT STILL HURTS MY HEART TO WRITE ABOUT HER THOUGH!**

 **While writing this fanfiction, I was listening to one of those "Best Romance Anime OST's" video compilation on YouTube and one struck me very hard. It's called "To The Same Heights" from Clannad After Story. While I have some major problems with the ending, the story until then is completely beautiful and so is the soundtrack. Give the OST a listen if you want.**

 **One of the parts that I struggled with when writing this chapter was Marika's giving up. It seemed like she would never give up in the manga and she still pursues Raku even after being rejected. Well, at least she's better by the end of this chapter. Also, there's going to be a... reveal in the next chapter. Stay tuned because it should be great! And as sometimes, I will see you... in the next chapter. BYE BYEEEEEEE!**


	5. A Wish Fulfilled Near the End

_A Wish Fulfilled Near the End_

Alone in her apartment, Marika was on the floor and cried as she watched the battle from her window "What should I do?! Raku is… he's still in this awful place! Rakkun…" Memories of Raku flooded her mind and one particular memory caught her attention. It was when Raku was still young and was badly injured and needed to be hospitalized for weeks.

Regaining the fire in her eyes, Marika yelled "I'll never let that happen again! What in the hell am I still doing here?!" Dashing out of her apartment, Marika found her dad in his car with his windows rolled down and was listening to the reports from his subordinates.

"Daddy! Start the car NOW!" Marika shouted as she dashed towards the car.

Seeing the dazzling flames in her eyes, Marika's father didn't question her orders at all and said to himself "Looks like you're back, Mari."

Once she reached the mansion, Marika dashed blindly through the halls until she heard a girl's voice screaming. Once she saw her injured beloved, Marika saw Chitoge preparing to attack him.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" Marika growled as she charged towards Chitoge and was somehow unnoticed as she jumped and delivered a strong kick into her cheek. With the kick being so great, Chitoge went tumbling across the hall but quickly regained her composure.

"Marika…" Chitoge growled as she picked herself up from the floor. Holding her bruised cheek, Chitoge threatened "Stay out of this, Marika. This doesn't concern you."

Returning her attention on the gorilla before her, Marika threatened "You've got lots of nerves to be harmin my Rakkun like that. I swear, if you take even a step closer to him, I'll pulverize ya!"

To say Chitoge wasn't a little frightened by Marika would be a lie. After Marika smashed her in the face and seeing that aggressive look on her face, Chitoge thought for a second she was dealing with a wild animal. Still…

"Marika!" Chitoge yelled as she charged towards her.

"Chitoge!" Marika screamed back as she charged towards her as well.

The brawl began as Marika swung her fist at Chitoge's face who ducked just in time. To counter attack, the blond gave Marika a fierce uppercut. Marika, who prepared for the hit, swung her head down quickly and gave Chitoge a painful headbutt that dazed both of them for a few seconds.

Recovering first, the orange-haired girl tackled Chitoge to the ground and started pummeling her in the face.

"Woohhhhh!" Marika roared as she continued to clobber the trapped heiress. As Marika threw down her fourth punch, Chitoge moved her head to the side to dodge and countered with a bite to her arm.

Shutting her eyes from the intense pain, Marika was blinded as she felt something ram into her forehead and was knocked backwards. Opening her eyes, Marika saw Chitoge about to pin her to the ground. After planting her foot into Chitoge's stomach, Marika grabbed Chitoge's wrists and flung her backwards.

As the two girls struggled to catch their breaths, they slowly rose from the floor to start round two.

"I bet you felt that one… you damned gorilla." Marika huffed with a smirk.

"Keep talking… you won't be able to for long." Chitoge threatened as she readied her fists.

Getting between the two, Raku tried stopping the battle "That's enough, you two!"

"Stay out of this, Raku!" The two girls shouted in unison and Chitoge started her assault once again.

Not being able to stand watching anymore, Raku stood his ground even as Chitoge's fist was flying towards his face.

"Raku!" Marika shouted his name as she got in the way at the last second and took the hit for him. Raku watched as Chitoge's fist buried deep into Marika's face. As Raku saw Marika hit the ground with a painful cry, he was overcome with anger.

Chitoge, who was still looking at the girl she just knocked to the ground, refocused her attention on Raku. Even though it was only for an instant, Chitoge saw a terrifying expression on Raku's face and felt something heavy going across her cheek. It wasn't a punch, but rather, a startling slap. Chitoge found herself dazed and unable to react, despite taking a much heavier beating less than a minute ago.

"That's enough, Chitoge." Raku warned as he focused his attention on Marika who held her hand to her nose that blood was leaking from.

"Here, I have a handkerchief." Raku said to Marika as he pulled one out and pushed it very gently on Marika's nose to stop the blood.

"Thank you, Raku." Marika weakly replied who was still feeling lightheaded after receiving that punch.

Tears ran Chitoge's face as she held the spot Raku slapped. After all of the time she spent with Raku, after putting him through so much physical abuse, Raku never hurt her in return… until now. For the sake of the person he loved, Raku broke his gentle ways. Watching Raku comfort Marika, who had been fighting for his sake, only added to her pain.

"It's just not fair!" Chitoge screamed who felt so bitter as tears continued to fall. After her outburst got Raku's and Marika's attention, Chitoge continued her cry "Marika, you got in between Raku and I at every turn! When we were supposed to be together on New Year's or when we were supposed to have alone time on our class trip, you ALWAYS took him from me! Do you know how hard it was to explain to my family that Raku was just going to a friend's house EVERYDAY for the past week?! Even though it devastated me when I found out he was living with you, I STILL had to tell everyone that they were misunderstanding! It's even gotten to the point where everyone's fighting! How, just how in the world can you be so selfish?!"

Tears racing down Marika's face as well, she tightly grabbed Raku's arm and started to confess "I know I act selfish a lot. I always act based off of my feelings without taking into account how others feel. But I… I don't have much time left."

This got Raku's and Chitoge's attention who immediately fell silent. Burying her face into Raku's shoulder, Marika started sobbing as she shared her biggest secret "The doctors said I wouldn't see my next birthday in March. I'm dying and there's nothing I can do about it!"

"…" Raku was speechless, no, stupefied. As Marika continued sobbing on his shoulder, his mind went completely blank and he couldn't process as single thing. Then, all at once, it finally hit him as the tears started rolling down his face. Wrapping his arms tightly around Marika, Raku couldn't help but cry loudly.

Collapsing to the floor, the news of Marika's short time left hit Chitoge hard. Until now, Chitoge only saw Marika as a nuisance and felt at peace when she wasn't around. It was only when she heard of Marika's near death condition that she realized that Marika was an irreplaceable friend. As rivers of tears continued running down her face, Chitoge screamed in pain who felt mixtures of guilt, regret, and sorrow.

Then, something warm was holding Chitoge's hand. Looking up, the crying heiress saw that it was Marika's hand that reached for her. Without any thought, Chitoge wrapped her arms tightly around Marika and wept on her shoulder.

After what seemed like forever, the three finally stopped crying and started calming down, but none of them wanted to let go of each other.

"Marika…" Raku uttered her name.

Trying to comfort the two, Marika whispered "Raku… and Chitoge… it's alright. I've known since I was little that I wasn't going to live a long life. In fact, I think I'm blessed to have lived this long. Don't worry about me, because when I die, I'm going to pass on happy. Happy that I achieved so much with my short existence. So please don't pity me."

Realizing there were still things to be done, Chitoge slowly got up and forced a smile "After what you did to me, I don't pity you at all. You're too strong for that. Anyways, there's a war that needs to be stopped, so I'll see you guys later."

"Chitoge?" Raku called out to her as she started walking away.

"Don't follow me, Raku. I can handle this on my own. Just… Just go back home… with her. She needs you. Oh, and our fake relationship is over now so feel free to do as you please." Chitoge answered back.

"Chitoge, wait!" Marika called out to her.

Stopping in her tracks, Chitoge looked around and smiled "You know, Raku said something interesting to me earlier about you. Once you get out of here, force him to tell you, okay? Marika… I wish you the best of luck."

Not having any words to say to her, Marika nodded and gave Chitoge a heartwarming smile. Just like that, Chitoge made her exit and left Raku alone with Marika.

"I must say, I'm curious about what you said to Chitoge earlier." Marika turned to face Raku as she said this.

"I'll tell you later, but right now we need to get you to a hospital. You looked pretty hurt." Raku answered back.

"I just got out of a hospital less than a month ago. Like hell I'm going back for just a few bruises and a bloody nose. If you're so concerned, then you take care of me." Marika insisted with hopeful eyes.

Even in this situation, Marika was still Marika and Raku couldn't help but smile at her. Picking her up bridal style, Raku faked a sigh "Okay, fine, but I'm warning you now that I'm going to take such thorough care of you that you'll actually miss the hospital."

As Raku carried her through the mansion, Marika played along "Oh, doctor? I think your patient requires CPR. You see-"

"Nope." Raku quickly shot her down.

"It was worth a shot." Marika giggled to herself.

Still thinking about Marika's CPR request, Raku lowered his head and placed his lips on Marika's cheek.

"H-Huh?" Marika stuttered as her face turned crimson and was feeling warmth from her kissed cheek.

After kissing her cheek, Raku retracted his slightly blushed face and muttered "Thank you for saving me, Marika. You're the best."

Her face feeling hot, Marika blurted "O-Oh, w-well, you know… it wasn't much."

"It meant the world to me, Marika, and so do you." Raku looked directly into her eyes as he said this.

"Raku…" Marika spoke his name with dazzling eyes.

Once Raku carried Marika outside, they met with Marika's dad and Honda.

"I see that you held off Tsugumi, just as expected." Marika commented who saw that Honda had a few cuts on her uniform.

Standing firmly and unwavering, Honda reported "Yes, milady. We were evenly matched, so the fighting only ceased once her mistress came out and ordered her to stop."

-Flashback-

"Tsugumi, stop, stop!" Chitoge ordered who came dashing out of the mansion.

Obeying her orders, Tsugumi ceased fighting with Honda who stopped fighting as well.

"It seems that Raku was able to persuade you." Honda commented as Chitoge came out.

"Actually, the one who persuaded me was Marika. Not that Raku didn't try, but she… told me about her health condition." Chitoge looked at the ground as she informed Honda.

"Health condition?" Tsugumi questioned who was hearing about this for the first time.

Bowing to Tsugumi, Honda apologized "I'm sorry, Tsugumi, but I deceived you. My mistress is going away, but not in the sense of being the heir to the Tachibana's. Milady ordered me never to speak of it and lie about it if necessary. You see-"

-End of flashback-

"That was the first time I have ever seen an assassin cry." Honda noted as she remembered Tsugumi's tears when she found out about Marika's real condition.

"Thanks for looking after my daughter. It seems like she did some reckless things in there." Marika's father put a hand on Raku's shoulder.

Shaking his head, Raku looked down at Marika and answered "You don't need to thank me. The one who was saved in there was me. I kind of have this rule about not attacking women, but that didn't work out in my favor."

"That didn't stop you from slapping her." Marika added to tease Raku.

"That's because-" Raku was about to explain himself, but quickly became too embarrassed to finish. Knowing what Raku was going to say, Marika smiled happily.

Looking at the person he now considered a man, Marika's father asked Raku "So, what will you be doing now?"

Although his question caught Raku off guard, the answer came to him almost immediately and he answered "Well… I was hoping I could go back to that apartment with Marika."

Although Raku's answer overjoyed Marika, she still had questions "W-What?! Raku, the bug infestation- I mean gas leak- oh you know what I mean! You know you can return to your family if you want!"

"Yeah, but I want to live at that apartment with you more." Raku answered back honestly.

Smiling at Raku's answer, Marika's father looked at his daughter and asked "Well, what will it be, Mari? Do you want to live with your cranky old man, or with the love of your life? Let's be honest, we all already know the answer. So just go be with him already."

As tears ran down her face, Marika whispered "I love you, daddy. Thank you for always supporting me."

Placing his hand on her head, Marika's father answered "Anything for my little Mari." Looking at Raku, Marika's dad added "Please make my daughter happy… until the end."

Nodding, Raku answered back with a smile "Yeah, I'll do my best."

With that, Marika's father departed with Honda and left Raku alone with Marika yet again. Having a burning desire of returning to that place, Raku started walking back to the apartment while still carrying Marika.

"Are you mad at me?" Marika asked shyly as Raku continued walking.

"What for?" Raku asked who looked down to see Marika's troubled face.

Avoiding eye contact, Marika said "I yelled at you to leave and I was so rude to you. I also hid my condition from you all this time. I wouldn't be surprised if you hated me…"

"Idiot. I would never come to hate you." Raku answered back matter-of-factly.

Marika was surprised by his answer, after all, it was something she said to him once.

" _I won't… come to hate you! Never! Regardless of what happens in the future!"_ Marika remembered herself saying.

As Marika started looking into his face, Raku added "You were just trying to protect me when you kicked me out and your… condition is pretty personal. I don't blame you for not telling me." Every time his thoughts went back to Marika's condition, Raku's heart sank and felt an incredible pain he knew he couldn't do anything about.

Marika could see the heartbreak in Raku's face which resurfaced her guilt and she apologized as a result "I'm sorry, Raku. I didn't think about how my departure would affect you until it was too late. Your bond with me is causing you so much pain, and I am so sorry for that."

"I'd rather have strong bonds that are painful than no bonds at all. Marika, I'm glad that I met you and I will always cherish our time together. How could I regret meeting someone as awesome as you?" Raku forced as smile as he held back the tears.

Remembering something Marika asked about earlier, Raku smiled "Hey, that thing Chitoge told you about. Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to say this. Marika-"

"I love you." These three precious words escaped Raku's lips.

Marika's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat once she heard Raku's confession. A blush rising to her face, Marika's mouth was hung open as she was left speechless. She heard the confession that she had been dreaming of since childhood; however, it just wasn't sinking in.

Seeing her dazed expression, Raku clarified "And this isn't some stupid 'I love you as a friend or like a sister' kind of thing. I love you as a man would love a woman. So, um…" Raku couldn't say anymore as his embarrassment finally caught up with him and a scarlet blush ran across his face.

Marika's one and only desire had come true. The man she had been dreaming of for so long finally returned her feelings. Driven mad by her desires, Marika quickly raised her head and made a move she had been too timid before to make.

As Raku was trying desperately to find something to say, he felt a pair of hands gently grasp the back of his neck and saw Marika coming in close rather quickly. Without even having time to react, her lips were pressed against his. Raku was initially caught off guard; however, quickly gave in and returned Marika's affection.

A good few seconds passed before the kissed was ended by Marika. Still near Raku's face, Marika placed her hand softly on Raku's cheek as she whispered affectionately "I love you too, Raku. You are the one person who holds my heart."

His heart skipping a beat from the kiss and Marika's words, Raku couldn't help but smile like a complete idiot. Seeing Raku's smile put butterflies in Marika's heart as she rested her forehead on Raku's and returned his smile.

After the long walk home and entering their apartment, Raku couldn't help but sigh "Phew, I'm exhausted."

"It has been a hectic day to say the least." Marika added who was happy to be home. Realizing something important, Marika informed "I almost forgot. Raku, your belongings aren't here anymore, remember?"

"Crap, you're right." Raku replied who honestly didn't care about that detail at the moment. Looking at the couch, Raku said "That couch really does look comfortable."

Putting on a frown, Marika poked his cheek and strongly disapproved "Raku, I simply will not allow you to sleep on such a thing."

"Then where am I supposed to sleep?" Raku asked who was even willing to sleep on the floor if necessary. As Raku looked into Marika's face, he saw a soft smile appear on her face as well as a slight blush.

Already knowing what Marika was about to suggest, Raku gave in and carried Marika to her bed. After setting Marika down gently, Raku laid down on the other side.

"My, you're so willing tonight, Raku." Marika giggled as Raku started getting comfortable in the bed.

With a blush, Raku replied "I'm too exhausted to be picky tonight. Besides… I want to be with you."

Eliminating the distance between herself and Raku, Marika wrapped her arms around Raku, nestled her head into his chest and whispered "Then stay with me."

Raku felt completely comfortable with Marika's closeness and returned her affectionate advance by wrapping one arm around her waist while his free hand rested in her hair.

Noticing something, Raku asked "Why's your stuff still here anyways?"

"I was not ready to leave this place. Once the fighting was over, I planned on returning here with Honda." Marika answered back as she closed her eyes. A question popping into her mind as well, Marika asked "I wonder how that girl is doing?"

"Who, Chitoge? I wouldn't worry about her. She has the strength of a gorilla and the stubbornness of a mule. She'll be fine." Raku chuckled who had complete faith in Chitoge.

Agreeing with Raku completely, Marika giggled "You're right. She is a pretty stubborn girl, isn't she?"

"Yeah, but I know someone who's even more stubborn. Someone who would go to such ridiculously extreme lengths on a daily basis just for a plain old guy." Raku smiled and held Marika tighter.

Letting out a pure, unbridled laugh, Marika responded "Hey, now. If you're referring to me, I'll have you know that I was never doing it for a 'plain old guy'. I was doing it for my beloved Raku and I won't have you talking down on him."

Marika's words put a warm fuzzy feeling in Raku's heart as he asked "So, you won't even let me trash talk about myself?"

Looking straight up into his face, Marika smiled "Nope!" A sudden desire popping into her head, Marika acted on it by brushing her cheek against Raku's affectionately.

"You're just like a cat." Raku chuckled as he welcomed it.

Shutting her eyes, Marika rested her forehead against Raku's and beamed "Meow! Forgive my excitement. It's just… I never thought happiness could go as far as what I'm experiencing right now. I'm truly in a state of pure bliss."

Marika's words warmed Raku's heart who felt the same way, but that still didn't stop the heartbreak he was experiencing at the same time and Marika seemed to catch that as she moved to rest her chin on Raku's head and buried his face in her chest.

If Raku wasn't experiencing two extreme emotions, his head would've been scarlet with embarrassment. Instead, Raku simply said her name "Marika?"

Holding Raku tenderly, Marika said to him softly "When I was a child, I was ready to die. It was only after I met you that I gained the will to live. I've bargained with god, I've made so many promises, I've struggled, and I've overcome many obstacles doctors thought were impossible. I know you're hurting, Raku. I am too, because I know I'm leaving you behind. That is my only regret. I'm sorry that I can't express my love to you for the rest of your life."

Every time Raku's thoughts trailed back to Marika's declining condition, his heart felt an immeasurable amount of agony. It was something Raku absolutely did not want to think about so he kept shutting it out only for it to come back to mind the next second. Frustration, turmoil, despair, and grief filled his heart when it wasn't filled with his awakened feelings for Marika. Raku wanted nothing more than to let loose all of his emotions; however, he knew he wasn't the one who was dying so he held back as much as he could for her sake.

"You gave me plenty of love." Raku's statement caught Marika's attention and he went on "Every day, you expressed your feelings for me in just about every action you made. The love you've already showered me in is enough to last a lifetime so you don't need to worry."

"Raku…" Marika called his name as she cried silent tears. Even though Raku was trying to comfort her, his words were still genuine and honest. No matter what, Raku was always Raku.

The two had a few moments of silence to enjoy the comfort from each other until Raku asked "Hey, Marika? I have a question."

Rubbing the tears out of her eyes, Marika replied "I'm happy to answer any question you might have."

Thinking back to something Shuu asked him, Raku asked "Well, you might not know the answer, but do you know why you're the only person I remember from my childhood? Were we close or something?"

While Raku's question caught her off guard, Marika answered "Raku… you had an encounter with a wild animal as a child. Someone from your family scared away the animal, but not before it attacked you in the head. You were taken to an average hospital whose doctors said you were doomed. Your father quickly called mine and arrangements were made to transport you to the most prestigious hospital in the world, which was owned by my family. If the operation was successful, your father promised mine that you would marry me. That's why I call you my fiancé."

"W-Wow, I remember being a hospital patient as a kid, but I never knew it was that serious." Raku answered and quickly realized something "Wait, that still doesn't answer my question."

Having more to explain, Marika continued "Oh, and it's important to note that this happened after we all parted ways as kids. I'm just going to come out and say it, you survived but you had retrograde amnesia. When I was finally allowed to see you, you didn't even know who I was. I guess that's why I never take it too well whenever you forgot about me. To finally answer your question, you remember me because I visited you every day in the hospital after you lost your memories."

"That's a lot of information to take in." Raku uttered who never heard anything about his amnesia. All this time, Raku thought he forgot about his childhood because it was such a long time ago.

"Even though it was hard to see you in such a state, two good things came out of it." Marika whispered to him and continued "Forgetting the other girls gave me the advantage."

"Even back then you were a tactician." Raku noted who couldn't help but laugh a little.

After a soft giggle, Marika rested her forehead against Raku's and said "And you still called me 'Mari' after the amnesia. Not because I wanted you to, but because you came up with it yourself. It kind of feels like even after you had amnesia, my name stuck to you."

"Well, I would be surprised if your name didn't stick to me. You are Marika, after all." Raku smiled and felt like Marika's being was strongly attached to his.

Raku's words and smile sending her heart aflutter, Marika's desires started getting the better of her again as she said "Hey, Raku?"

"Hmm?" Raku responded and before he could react, a pair of lips were once again pressed against his. As quickly as it began, it was over which left Raku almost speechless from the bliss he quickly experienced.

"T-That's playing dirty, Marika. If you keep kissing me without warning-"

Raku's words were cut off by another kiss from Marika. His desires driving him crazy, Raku held Marika closer as he deepened the kiss. Once again, that blissful feeling was too fleeting to satisfy the two once their lips parted.

"I won't be able to-" Raku tried in vain to complete his sentence as Marika's lips returned to his. As bliss turned to euphoria, the two held each other tighter and the kiss became more intense. The first kiss was out of pure love and the second kiss was like a continuation of the first one; however, the third kiss was made out of lust as the two teenagers longed for each other.

Once their lips parted yet again, Raku whispered her name "Marika…"

"Raku..." Marika returned as her lips were attracted to Raku's yet again. The two continued kissing like this for the next few minutes until Marika found herself on top of Raku with her forehead resting against his. Both Marika and Raku were struggling to catch their breath as they stared into each other's eyes.

Regaining enough breath to talk, Raku panted "Geez… Who knew you… could be so… aggressive…"

"I can't help it… you were driving me… crazy…" Marika panted back at Raku. After finally catching her breath, Marika put on a smirk as she asked "And just where do you think you were touching me?"

" _Oh no…"_ Raku screamed internally and thought he had gone too far. Raku allowed his hands to act on impulse during their passionate moment and had a guilty blush on his face as he apologized "I-I'm so sorry, Marika! I didn't mean to go that far, it's just-"

Raku's panicking was amusing to Marika who couldn't stop herself from giggling. Once he realized Marika was just pulling his leg again, Raku calmed down significantly but was still embarrassed at what he had done.

"You can touch me more… if you want." Marika offered with a fiery passion in her eyes.

With his lust was still near its peak, Marika's offer was more than tempting for Raku; however, he already went through so much uncharted territory and felt like things were going too fast so he refused awkwardly "I-I'll pass. I am pretty tired and… yeah."

A little surprised by his rejection, Marika couldn't help but smile at Raku's awkwardness and so she accepted his answer "You really are shy, Raku. Very well, I won't push you on the matter." With that, Marika got off of Raku and laid down beside him.

Sensing that it was finally time to go to sleep, Marika had one request "Can I ask a favor of you? Remember how I held you as we slept a few days ago? Well, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to… do the same to me."

Looking at Marika, Raku saw a soft blush on her face which infected his with a blush as well.

"Sure." Raku agreed and so Marika laid on her side with Raku's arms wrapped securely around her waist.

"I love you, Raku. Sweet dreams." Marika said goodnight to Raku with a smile.

"Goodnight, Marika. I love you too." Raku returned as his eyes closed and fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

 **Author's notes: I wonder how all of you think of the direction I'm taking this. My direction might seem obvious, I mean, I'm taking a girl with a illness and writing about how she's dying (or will she die?). Still, I hope this read isn't boring for you. You might remember about me saying that this was originally going to be a rated M work. I'd have to say I'm happy I restricted myself to a rated T rating because it feels more like Nisekoi this way and it still gives me creative freedom to slowly kill a character... that came out wrong. What I meant to say is that it gives me the freedom to write a heartbreaking "what-if" story about a beloved Nisekoi character who is also my waifu.**

 **I recently played the newest Ninja Storm game and the boss battle between Guy and Madara is one of the most epic things I've ever seen! That's kinda why I had Marika enter with a flying kick... haha. Gotta love Guy-sensei!** **I don't remember if I put in any other references in this chapter which is kind of disappointing...**

 **Any Pokemon fans out there? All I have to say about that is I'm on the hype train to the moon (or the sun depending on which version I get)!**

 **This fanfiction is going by way too fast in terms of how quickly I post chapters. I uploaded the first chapter less than a month ago and now we're almost at the end. I've never been so inspired to write before and that shows by how quickly I get these chapters out. Every time I post a chapter, I intend on taking a few days off as a break. I literally wrote over 2000 words to this chapter the same day I posted chapter 4. There are no breaks on this fanfiction... Okay, that's a lie because I'm actually taking a break for real this time without a doubt... probably. What I'm trying to say is the next chapter might not be out for awhile or it might even be out early next week. Who knows!**


	6. Goodbye

_Goodbye_

After waking up, Raku started recalling the events of last night and wondered how much of it he had dreamt. How else was he supposed to make sense of the war between families, Marika's fatal illness, and confessing his love to her? Once Raku saw that his arms were wrapped around the soft girl in front of him, he realized that it was true. All of it.

"Are you awake?" Raku whispered as quietly as he could.

"I am." Raku got a soft response from Marika.

Shifting her body to face Raku, Marika beamed a gentle smile as she said softly "Good morning."

"Morning." Raku couldn't help but smile back. Despite everything that has happened, Raku couldn't help but feel at ease at the moment from Marika's soothing presence.

"How did you sleep?" Raku asked as his body started waking up as well.

After stretching out her arms, Marika placed them around Raku as she answered "I slept like a baby. As much as I wanted to stay conscious to enjoy your comforting embrace, my soul felt too at ease to stay awake. How about you?"

"I fell asleep pretty quickly as well. If you slept like a baby, then I slept like a rock." Raku replied with a chuckle.

"I'm glad to hear that." Marika giggled as she nuzzled her face into Raku's chest.

Raku was about to give into the moment and enjoy spending time with Marika, but he quickly remembered something and exclaimed "I completely forgot! What happened with the fighting and with Chitoge?!"

Startled by Raku's sudden shouting, she retracted her face and replied "That is a good question."

Dashing out of bed, Raku went to grab his phone only to find out there had been no calls or texts. Tapping his phone frantically, Raku pressed on Chitoge's contact and called the number.

After a few rings, Raku heard "Do you know what freaking time it is?!"

Relieved to hear her voice, Raku started his questions "Chitoge, are you alright? What happened with the fighting? Did it stop? Is everyone alright? What-"

Overwhelmed with questions, Chitoge interrupted "Hold on! Stop, stop! Listen, there are some things I have to tell you so just come meet me in our usual spot in ten minutes."

There was a clicking sound and the call was ended. Usually, Raku could reach their usual meeting spot in just a few minutes; however, that was only from his yakuza family's house.

As Raku frantically got his shoes on, Marika came around the corner and asked "It seems like you're in a hurry."

"Chitoge told me to meet her in ten minutes. I need to know what happened." Raku answered as he continued tying his shoes.

"I understand. Just… be back soon, okay?" Marika softly insisted.

Marika's words worrying him, Raku stopped what he was doing as he looked back at Marika and asked "What do you mean?"

Thinking that Raku got the wrong idea, Marika shook her head frantically and tried clarifying "Oh, it's not like anything bad will happen to me while you're gone. It's just... I need you now more than even, Raku. So please don't be gone for long; however, I know this is something you must do."

Raku wanted more than anything to stay; however, after leaving Chitoge to deal with everything, Raku felt like the absolute least he could do was to meet her. Turning to face the door, Raku said "I'll be back soon, Marika."

Once Raku left the room, Marika once again gave the order "You may come out, Honda."

Coming out of the side of the wall, Honda observed "You are quite the clingy girlfriend, milady. I almost feel bad for Raku."

"You are more vocal about your observations, Honda." Marika stated and went on defensively "If you think I'm one of those girls who are so insecure that they need to know what their partner is up to at all times, then you're wrong. The trust between Raku and I is much greater than such petty things."

"Even though you placed a tracking device on the boy." Honda recalled.

Getting irritated, Marika retorted "T-That's to take into account his location when I strategize my advances. The point is, Raku is free to do as he wishes without me being fearful or jealous even if he's meeting another girl that's in love with him. It's just… I know I'm probably not going to fall over and die today, but I'm still afraid. I want Rakkun to be right there with me when I kick the bucket. When I had my anxiety attack, I honestly thought I was going to die and that's why I ran to Raku and yelled for him to wake up. I want him to send me off when I..." Marika couldn't bring herself to finish.

"I understand. I apologize for my rudeness." Honda apologized with a bow.

Shaking her head, Marika answered "Don't apologize. That was one of our truest conversations yet. You know, besides the one yesterday when you told me I was acting like a sore loser. You helped made me realize that it's better to painfully struggle than to bitterly accept the outcome after doing nothing. So… thank you, Youko."

"…You're welcome, Marika."

Back with Raku, he was making a mad dash to his destination and finally met with Chitoge.

"You're late." Chitoge scolded lightly.

After catching his breath, Raku replied "It's not my fault that I live in a different part of town now. Well, okay, it is my fault, but that's beside the point. So, what exactly happened last night?"

Having already prepared an answer to that particular question, Chitoge started to explain "Well, I started yelling at the top of my lungs at my family to stop, I decked Claude in the face, I bowed and apologized to the yakuza, and then the fighting was over. I guess after I spent so much time with your family, they didn't want to ignore my pleas to stop fighting."

It was too simple for Raku as he asked with disbelief "Wait, that's it?"

"Well, there's one more thing." Chitoge added who was wondering whether or not to tell Raku. Realizing that he would find out sooner or later, Chitoge confessed "The police showed up once everyone settled down. The head of police, Marika's father, told us that after all of the damage and the evacuation, something had to be done. As a result, the mafia, including myself, is leaving this town for good. It's supposed to reassure everyone that the ordeal is done and to prevent further fighting in the town. We'll be gone by tomorrow morning."

"No way…" Raku uttered who was almost speechless. Not wanting this to be the end, Raku objected "That's just not fair! You didn't do anything wrong! It was our damned families who are at fault! Even I acted selfishly and let our fake relationship slip. So why? Why are you the one being punished for this?"

While Chitoge found some comfort in his words, she went on "It's because you're already going through enough pain as it is. You know, how Marika is… There really aren't any happy endings to our nisekoi, is there?"

Finally accepting the truth that Chitoge was leaving, Raku forced a smile "A happy ending isn't something that's decided by circumstance; but rather, it's something you work for. All of the memories and the bonds I forged with you and Marika will give me my happy ending, even if you two are gone. Chitoge, it may not be what you were hoping for, but you are my closest friend and I was so glad to be in a nisekoi with you."

Raku's words catching her off guard, Chitoge started walking closer and laughed "'It's something you work for'? Geez, I think I'm going to be sick! That's probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Still…"

Wrapping her arms around Raku, Chitoge whispered in his ear "It goes without saying that you're my best friend. Thank you for putting up with me all these years."

Returning her hug, Raku answered back "It's been hell to say the least, but you're welcome."

After ending the heartwarming hug, Chitoge took a step away and said her goodbyes "We'll meet again someday. Until then, goodbye… stupid beansprout."

"See you later, you brutal gorilla. I'll miss you." Raku said his goodbyes as well.

Before departing, Chitoge pointed to Raku's face and asked "Hey, Raku? What's that thing on your face?"

"Huh? What thing-"

"It's my fist!" Chitoge yelled as she sent her fist flying straight towards his cheek.

Closing his eyes and weakly trying to defend his face, Raku yelped "Not again!"

A few seconds passed without anything ramming fiercely against his cheek which confused Raku. Suddenly, Raku felt something warm press against his cheek. Opening his eyes, Raku saw Chitoge's face right in front of his and her lips were pressed against his cheek.

As her lips departed Raku's cheek, Chitoge opened her eyes and her held back tears finally ran down her face. Before the tears blurred her vision, Chitoge took one last look into Raku's face and whispered "I love you."

With that, Chitoge turned around and dashed away. Raku felt a tremendous urge to run after her, but this was a true goodbye. After standing dazed in the same spot for a while, Raku finally accepted that Chitoge was truly gone and started making his way back to the apartment with another empty feeling opening up in his heart.

Once Raku opened the door to his apartment, he was immediately greeted with an intense hug from Marika.

"I missed you so much!" Marika murmured into Raku's chest.

A little thrown off by Marika's quick embrace, Raku asked "Were you waiting at the door for me to get back? Come on, Marika, surely being away from me isn't-"

Once Raku saw Marika's face, he lost the words he was going to say. Tears were welled up in her eyes and her lips kept quivering. To Raku, it felt like he was returning home to a little puppy who was over excited by a human's return.

"Marika..?" Raku said her name as Marika continued giving him puppy dogs eyes.

Letting her feelings run free, Marika shook her head frantically and ranted "Waaah! Rakkun, you're not allowed being more than two feet away from me at all times! That includes sleeping, bathing, schooling, and everything else! I will be by your side twenty-four hours a day!"

"T-Twenty-four hours a day?!" Raku questioned in disbelief.

"You better believe it!" Marika answered back who wasn't faltering in the slightest in her conviction. After calming down some from holding Raku, Marika retracted her face from his chest and spoke "Um… that was a joke. I mean, obviously we can't be together at all times. That would just be silly… hehe."

Considering Marika's request for a few moments, Raku answered "Okay, you win. From here on out, I won't leave your side."

Hearing Raku accepting her proposal filled her with relief and joy as she slowly returned to Raku's chest and whispered "Thank you, Raku."

After the two returned inside, they sat down on the dining room table and cast their eyes downward. Raku was unsure how to face the situation; however, he had questions that needed answered and so he asked "Marika, can you tell me about your condition? What kind of illness are you suffering from?"

Already expecting that question, Marika softly shook her head and answered "It's got a complicated name and no matter how much medicine I take or how many shots they give me, there's nothing anybody can do to make me better. I guess that's why I don't remember the name. I mean, what would be the point in memorizing the name of an incurable disease?"

"But who says it's incurable? Maybe if you just-" Raku started saying in desperation.

Cutting off Raku, Marika looked at him in the eyes and smiled "Raku… As painful as it is to say this, there's no hope for me. That's actually the reason why I was allowed to come to this town. I've wasted almost my entire life to get better… I don't want to waste what's left in a hospital room. Please try to understand."

"But…" Raku tried his best to form an argument only to realize Marika was right. Not only was it her decision that he had to respect, but Raku himself wouldn't want to spend the climax of his life in a hospital bed. A soft hand was placed on top of Raku's who looked up to see a brilliant smile on Marika's face.

As Marika's smile calmed Raku, he went on to ask "Do you have some sort of bucket list or something? If you have anything left that you want to do, I will do my best to help you."

"You already know what I want, Raku." Marika answered back with her smile unfaltering.

It was true. The answer to his question was obvious; however, he still needed to know if there were any other things that Marika wanted. Getting up from his chair, Raku walked over to Marika and wrapped his arms gently around her. Nestling his face in Marika's hair, Raku whispered "It's hard to believe all you want is a simple guy like me."

Placing her hands on top of Raku's, Marika blushed softly and smiled "What did I say about you belittling yourself? All I want is you, even if we were living inside of a cardboard box in a town where rain never ceased."

"I feel the same way, Marika." Raku answered back as he kissed her cheek. The two stayed like this for a long time.

School didn't start back up until the following Monday. While Raku and Marika were walking to school together, Raku mentioned "You know, we don't have to go to school if you don't want to."

Shaking her head, Marika rejected the idea "That simply will not do, Raku. You're the one who taught me about the importance of education and I will not allow your grades to falter because of-"

"Raku!" A familiar voice screamed from behind.

"Oh, hey, Har-" Raku tried greeting; however, a foot was firmly planted in his face once he turned around.

As Raku fell to the ground, he caught a glimpse of a little cartoon bear among other things.

" _Yup, definitely Haru."_ Raku had one final thought before his head hit the ground painfully.

"Raku, are you alright?" Marika exclaimed as she dropped her school bags in a rush to be by his side.

Trying to force a cool look, Raku gave Marika a thumbs up as he groaned "You kidding me? I hardly even felt that."

"I can hit you again if you want!" Haru offered angrily as she started walking towards Raku.

Standing up herself, Marika got in between Haru and Raku and shouted "I won't go easy on you just because you're-"

"Haru! What are you doing?" Another familiar voice called out.

As Raku and Marika turned their heads around, Kosaki came into view.

Not looking towards her big sister, Haru shouted at Raku "Why did you turn down my big sis?! Do you know awful it made her feel?!"

"Haru, please stop." Kosaki pleaded in a gentle voice as she continued walking towards her little sister.

"How could you do that to her?! She's too good for you and you still have the nerve to crush her feelings?! I had to watch her cry for so long just because you-"

"Haru! That is enough!" Kosaki shouted as she put her hand on Haru's shoulder.

Turning around to face her, Haru tried desperately to argue "But, big sis, he…" The words weren't coming and what else what she supposed to say? " _I'm sorry. I just thought that this guy was hopelessly in love with you so that's why I'm a little unsettled."_ That's not good enough to justify her actions, so Haru fled the scene which left Raku, Marika, and Kosaki in a pretty awkward situation.

Rummaging through her bag, Kosaki got a bandage out and knelt down in front of Raku. Placing it on his forehead, Kosaki apologized "I'm sorry, Raku. My sister is a little hot headed. She gets it from our mother."

"Oh, no, don't worry about it. You know, this is kind of nostalgic. Just like the first day of high school." Raku gave a light chuckle.

Watching with jealousy, Marika interrupted the moment "Ahem, if we stay here any longer we'll be late for class. We should go now, Raku, Kosaki."

"R-Right!" Kosaki stuttered and started blushing as she frantically got up.

Marika offered her hand to Raku who accepted the help "Thanks, Marika."

An idea popping into her mind, Marika offered "I can support you while we walk to school, Raku."

Not wanting to put any unnecessary strain on her body, Raku refused "No thanks. This is something a man has to walk off."

Wrapping her arm around Raku's back to support him, Marika teased "A man wouldn't get knocked over by such a small girl wearing cartoon bear panties, so your statement doesn't apply to you."

Ouch.

" _I didn't know I was talking to Chitoge."_ Raku bitterly thought.

Having absolutely nothing to say to that, Raku muttered quietly "I'm in your care."

Looking at Marika and Raku, Kosaki giggled but couldn't fully suppress the strong bitterness she was experiencing.

The three arrived at school and the day went by normally with a few exceptions. A lot of tears were shed (mostly by Kosaki) in homeroom once Yui told the class about Chitoge moving. Also, a lot of the students tried looking away from Raku and when he talked to a classmate of his, the classmate jerked his head away and started shaking slightly.

It wasn't a surprise for Raku who mentally sighed " _It's not that big of a surprise that they're afraid of me after the war broke out last week. Still, what do they think I'm going to do? Lash out with a katana out of the blue?"_

After the final bell rang, Raku and Marika started making their way to the school's zoo.

"You don't have to come with me, you know. I know how you're afraid of animals." Raku said to his panicking lover.

Clearly sweating, Marika answered "N-Nonsense! You know very well that I refuse to leave your side! If you were to jump into shark infested waters, I'd do the same. B-Besides, I've been training for this. I've been getting used to animals by being around that gorilla. W-What was her name again? 'Shitoge'?"

Once the two turned the corner, they bumped into Kosaki who was startled by their chance meeting.

"O-Oh! Hello there, Raku." Kosaki stuttered nervously.

Kosaki's nervousness rubbing off on him, Raku answered "H-Hey there, Kosaki. I'm surprised to see you here!"

Looking at the two flustered teenagers, Marika started walking ahead and said "I will be going on ahead, Raku. Please catch up once you are done here."

"H-Huh? Oh, sure." Raku answered his lover as she walked away.

Kosaki and Raku were alone. Everyone else had already left and it felt like the school was their own little world but it wasn't a comfortable one with the two feeling incredibly nervous.

Raku broke the silence "Kosaki… do you know about the meeting I had with Ruri last week?"

This question startled Kosaki who gave a little gasp. Kosaki wanted to run away, but she knew Raku would slowly drift away if things were kept as they were.

"I was there." Kosaki answered without taking her gaze from the floor as she went on "I was right behind the door."

Although Raku knew there was a chance Ruri would tell her everything, Raku didn't even think that Kosaki was there to hear everything. Well, that would explain Haru's assault earlier.

"My little sister sure was mad, wasn't she? Claiming you turned me down even though I never confessed to you." Kosaki forced a light laugh before finally looking him straight in the eyes and going on in a more serious tone "Raku, I like you. I really like you. I want to be with you. I want us to walk to school holding hands and talking with no barriers between us. Will you… Will you be mine, Raku?"

"… I'm sorry, but I can't return your feelings. My heart belongs to Marika." Raku answered her feelings honestly. It was just for a moment, but Raku could see the heartbreak in her face before a smile formed on her face and tears started streaming down.

"Thank you, Raku." Kosaki said in almost a whisper. Before Raku could say anything, Kosaki went on "I was always afraid of my feelings for you, thinking it would eventually lead to heartbreak, and maybe it did. Still, it feels like I've taken a step forward for the first time."

Raku could only watch helplessly as Kosaki's tears intensified and her smile wavered.

"Kosaki, I-"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Raku!" Kosaki cut Raku off before she dashed away.

Once again, Raku was left in a helpless situation where he made a girl cry and there was nothing he could do. If he chased after her, what was he supposed to say to her? Despite being an important friend, Raku couldn't return Kosaki's feelings so he couldn't do anything about her pain. It was one of the worst feelings in the world. _Powerless._

Remembering that Marika was waiting for him, Raku quickly snapped out of his thoughts and headed for the zoo and he was completely astounded at what was taking place.

Owls were looming overhead, an alligator was roaming outside of its cage, and a hamster was taking hostages in the form of an orange-haired girl who was curled up in a ball along with her parrot.

"What the hell is going on?!" Raku exclaimed as he took in the scene.

Hearing his voice, Marika cried frantically "Rakkun! Rakkun, Rakkun, Rakkun, help me! Help me I'm gonna die! It's gonna eat me alive! Please save me, Rakkun!"

After putting the hamster back in its cage, Raku called for teachers who then called for animal control once they saw the alligator. As the situation began to settle down, Raku was comforting a shaky Marika who kept talking under her breath "I hate animals. Hamsters are the root of all evil."

"There, there." Raku comforted as he held Marika closer and his efforts seemed to be paying off as she slowly stopped shaking.

The next two weeks flew by as Raku and Marika continued their simple daily lives at her request. It was Saturday the 13th with Raku and Marika finishing up dinner.

After finishing her food, Marika said a little timidly "I… I think I will be retiring to bed early tonight."

Although Raku was a little surprised since it was still early, he answered "Okay. I'll finish up my food real fast and then I'll join you." Raku did promise to stay by Marika's side. If she was going to bed, he would be going to bed as well.

With a slight blush and a warm smile, Marika headed for their bedroom. It only took Raku two minutes to complete his meal. Getting up, Raku made his way for the bedroom. After opening the door, Raku was treated to a startling sight.

It was Marika in all of her beauty. Several, no, all of her garments seemed to be missing as nothing was left up to Raku's imagination.

"Um… Hi there…" Marika greeted very timidly. If the room weren't so dark, Raku would've seen the crimson all over her face.

After staring for several seconds, Raku came back to reality as he stuttered "O-Oh! U-Umm, hey…"

After a long a long silence between the two, Marika finally poured her heart and soul out to Raku into one question "Tonight, will you become one with me?"

Although Raku was a healthy teenager boy, he had an old school mindset. " _We're too young to be doing this. We should take out time."_ Is what Raku wanted to say; however, time is not something Marika had the luxury of.

It was now or never.

"Okay." Raku answered after thinking things through. He loved Marika with all of his heart and he wanted to live with no regrets. For all the love Marika has showed him over the years, Raku wanted to do his best to return those strong feelings to her while he still could.

Upon hearing Raku's answer, Marika's eyes glowed with a seemingly endless amount of passion as she simply nodded to Raku's answer.

After the highlight of both of their lives came to an end, the two were both lying on their sides as they stared into each other's eyes. The two thought about ending the silence, but no words were needed right now. The only desire Raku and Marika have is to stay close to the each other.

Closing her eyes, Marika eliminated the already short gap between herself and Raku as she nuzzled her face into his chest.

"I love you." Marika whispered affectionately.

To Raku, it felt like the first time Marika's ever said that. Not that he's doubted her before, but there was so much strength behind her affectionate words. The two were already intimate and in love, but now it seemed like all of the barriers that could possibly separate two hearts vanished. There wasn't a trace of awkwardness or unfamiliarity anymore as they finally reached the pinnacle of human relationship. Not because of their actions, but the meaning behind it. They both gave everything they had to each other and they came out with no regrets.

Holding her close, Raku returned her feelings "I love you too. I always will."

A bright smile formed on Marika's face at his words as she gave a hearty giggle. Suddenly, an ominous feeling started swirling around in Marika's heart and her bright smile was replaced by a grim look that she hid in Raku's chest. It felt very familiar to the time she had the anxiety attack.

" _I literally felt like I was going to die."_ Marika thought back to the night when she had the anxiety attack and woke Raku up because of it.

" _Am I about to have another anxiety attack? Or… am I…"_ Marika's thoughts haunted her as a feeling of dread started taking over.

"Marika, are you okay?" Raku's voice cut off her thoughts.

It seemed like Raku's words were able to dispel the ominous feelings that Marika was experiencing.

"I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind." Marika answered back who wrapped her arms tightly around Raku.

Although Raku wanted to believe in her words, he knew that Marika was anything but fine. Even now, Marika's arms were shaking and felt something wet against his chest. Trying to comfort her, Raku started running his hand through Marika's hair.

As the tears kept pouring out, Marika cried "I don't want to die. It's just not fair! After dreaming for so long, I finally have you right in my arms. We're finally lovers, and yet it's so fleeting! I'm not ready for this to end. I'm not ready to leave. I'm not ready to say goodbye to you. I never will be! I had so many dreams I wanted to share with you. I wanted to buy a house for us to live happily in. I wanted so many lovely children. I wanted us to grow old together and I… I don't want to be alone. Dammit. God dammit!"

Marika's words cut through Raku like a knife. It was all too much for Raku who couldn't hold back the tears. Truth be told, Raku couldn't think about living without Marika and would do almost anything to stay by her side; however, Raku knew that he would have to lead a long and fulfilling life for Marika's sake before joining her. Life, with all of its wonders and mysteries, became a confining hell for Raku.

" _A happy ending isn't something that's decided by circumstance._ " Raku wanted to laugh bitterly at his own words.

Raising her face from Raku's chest, Marika's tear filled face was just millimeters away from Raku's.

"Never curse life, Raku." Marika told Raku as she rested her forehead against his.

Once again, Marika read Raku's thoughts and he couldn't bring himself to say anything. How could he not curse life with everything that's happened?

Placing her hands on Raku's cheeks, Marika added "Never curse life because it was in life that I met you and it was in life that I fell in love with you."

Marika's strong feelings were starting to reach Raku who felt the same. Although their parting was inevitable, the fact remains that they were together for a time and that means the world to Raku.

Rubbing the tears out of his eyes, Raku weakly scolded "Idiot… How could I hate life when I've met someone as amazing as you?"

Despite the hectic assault of emotions that Marika was dealing with, she couldn't help but smile at his answer and she advised "If you ever find yourself in a dark place, remember the words you just said."

The two stayed together like that until their emotions settled down.

"Marika." Raku called her name to break the silence.

"Yes, Raku?" Marika replied in a quiet voice.

"I think it's time to get some sleep. I'm feeling tired in quite a few ways." Raku answered in a soft voice.

"I agree. I'm feeling quite sleepy as well." Marika replied. Drawing her face closer to Raku's, her lips were pressed against his.

Once their lips separated, Marika softly smiled "Goodnight, Raku. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Marika. Sweet dreams." Raku answered back with a gentle smile.

The two laid on their sides with Marika burying her face into Raku's chest and Raku's arms were wrapped securely around her. Marika felt at peace for the most part; however, moments before falling asleep, that ominous feeling returned.

* * *

 **Author's notes: While I thought "Goodbye" would be an appropriate title for this chapter, I will admit one of the reasons I chose was to be a tiny bit of a troll. It was my hope that some of you thought it would be a goodbye between Raku and Marika rather than the actual goodbye between Raku and Chitoge.**

 **It's been a bit since my last posting. As much as I want to talk about how college interfered with my writing, I feel like using school as an excuse is too mainstream on this site. Just think about how many fanfictions that you follow that take forever to update and the writer uses some type of schooling as an excuse. I'm not saying that's an unworthy excuse, it's just a very common one. That is not the case with me. You see, I was... let's see here... Ah! I was abducted by an army of penguins! They were quite the formidable opponents; however, they had one fatal short coming... They're short and easy to punt. After the long struggle, I returned home and started writing... college papers.**

 **I feel slightly awkward about this chapter and that's mostly because it took two months to type. Seriously, I typed half of it like two months ago and the rest of it last night. I wonder if the split somehow shows in my writing?**

 **One thing that made me a little uncomfortable was the two week time skip. So much could have happened in that time period. I chose the time skip because I couldn't think of anything out of the ordinary for Raku and Marika to do during that time period. I thought about including another date similar to the one at the mall; however, I decided against it because it would've seemed like filler and I just want to focus on the plot moving forward.**

 **Have any of you readers seen the anime "Kanon"? Remember Shiori? The sick girl who was dying? For some reason, I really like her character. Anyways, you might have heard Marika summarize something Shiori has said once. Anyways, next chapter I will have another Shiori reference and it's something Shiori said once that ripped my heart out.**

 **Well, thanks for sticking with me so far, especially after the two month break. There's not much left so I hope you continue reading until the end. As always, I will see you... in the next chapter. Bye bye!**


	7. Raku's Treasure

_Raku's Treasure_

What was this feeling? This ominous feeling of apprehension. It started right before going to bed and it haunted her dreams. Even now, awakened by the morning sunlight, Marika still cannot find peace from this feeling. Suddenly, the source of the ominous feeling dawned on her as she put a hand over her chest.

"I think I understand now." Marika voiced her realization. Looking over at her sleeping lover, she moved closer to him and held him softly.

"Today… I'm…"

"Ngh…" Raku groaned slightly as he woke up. His body was slightly sore and still felt the effects of his previously drained emotions from last night. The thought of returning to sleep was more than tempting for Raku, but he noticed Marika was not in the room.

After standing up and getting dressed, Raku made his way into the kitchen and found Marika preparing breakfast.

"Morning, Marika. How did you sleep?" Raku greeted as he slowly walked over to her.

After slowly turning around, Marika beamed a bright warm smile "Good morning, Raku. I slept exceptionally well last night."

To anyone else, they would've thought that this girl was in high spirits, especially for it being so early in the morning; however, Raku couldn't help but feel a little worried. Raku only caught something like this once before.

" _I'm going to be just fine, Raku. I have to be in good health if I want to be your bride, after all._ "

Thinking he was being paranoid, Raku decided to brush those feelings aside as he walked up to Marika and gave her a hug which she returned affectionately.

After the good morning hug, Marika returned to making breakfast which Raku lent a hand with. After the food was done, the two filled their plates and started eating. While breakfast wasn't too out of the ordinary, Raku noticed something "Hey, you're eating pretty slowly today. You okay?"

"Oh, don't mind me. It's just that I want to savor the food." Marika answered with her gaze intentionally focused away from Raku.

Raku, who had been living with Marika for about a month, could tell that something was off about her behavior. Before he could voice his concern, Marika spoke "I have a proposition. To save money on the water bill, I think it would be more efficient if we take our morning bath together."

Marika's proposition took Raku off guard as he blushed lightly and almost spat out his coffee. Remembering the events of last night, Raku realized that they already crossed that checkpoint as a couple so he agreed "Well, if it's to save money then I guess I have no choice."

"Are you saying that money is your only reason for doing this?" Marika asked with a sharp grin on her face.

As his blush intensified, Raku answered "N-No, that's not it! It's just that I don't want to state my other reason because I don't want to be labeled as a pervert."

"Raku." Marika said his name to get his attention and then went on unfaltering "I would very much like to see you wearing as few garments as possible. Preferably with none on."

This left Raku speechless as he jaw dropped. This earned Marika a laugh as she teased "You're reactions are so priceless, Rakkun! Oh come on, no need to be so shy. We are in the height of our youth so these feelings are common among couples."

With his embarrassment reaching its peak, Raku stormed off "I'm going to take that shower now."

"Wait for me." Marika smiled brightly as she stood from her chair to join him.

After another affectionate moment, the two came out of the shower and started drying off.

After the two finished drying off and getting dressed for the day, Marika said "Raku, I have a request." After getting Raku's attention, she pulled out her key.

"Can I try opening your locket?" Marika asked as she held her key to her heart.

Having forgotten about his childhood lover, Marika's proposition took Raku by surprise. Although the promise he made as a child is still important to him, Raku wouldn't let feelings from the past dissolve the feelings he currently has for Marika.

Pulling out his locket, Raku agreed "Sure, but I'm not going to let the outcome negatively affect our relationship. The person I'm in love with is you, despite what happens after opening this locket."

With a wide smirk, Marika stated "That's assuming that there's a possibility that the promised girl is not me. I can assure you, there's no doubt in my mind that the promise you made all those years ago was with me."

Smiling from Marika's determination, Raku started slowly moving his pendant towards Marika's key and said "Alright, let's do this."

"Right!" Marika answered back with fire in her eyes. The key and locket slowly inched towards each other; however, Raku noticed the closer the two objects got, the more Marika faltered as she became increasingly nervous. When the objects were just millimeters apart, Marika stopped moving her key forward and looked extremely hesitant. Sighing, Raku thrusted his locket forward which lightly clashed against the key and startled Marika.

"Don't be so nervous. Like I said, nothing's going to change between us if you're not the promised girl. I swear." Raku softly said to help soothe Marika's worries.

While Raku's words had some impact on Marika, uncertainty still lingered as she asked "Do you really mean that? If you say it one more time, I will believe you without a trace of doubt."

Raku was surprised his words still haven't sunk in, but then realized it wasn't surprising. Throughout high school, Raku treasured his pendant and was never good at hiding his relief whenever he found it after it went missing; however, it couldn't compare to how much he treasured Marika and so Raku stated "Marika, if you told me to throw my pendant out the window, stomp on it repeatedly, and then toss it into a volcano, I would do so without hesitation. I'm in love with you and I'm not in love with some stupid object that holds the past that I can't even remember."

Marika finally felt the weight of Raku's words and all doubt was erased from her mind. With her smile returning, Marika inserted her key into the keyhole and said "Thank you, Raku. Let's finish this."

Hearing the key fit made Raku's heart skip a beat yet again. It was just like the time with Chitoge's key and he was rendered speechless from the anticipation. Sure, Raku was not about the let this outcome bring harm to his relationship; however, the thought that Marika could be the promised girl excited him.

As she slowly twisted her key, Marika's thoughts kept her going " _From our past to now. I want to know everything about my relationship with this man standing before me!"_

 _Click_

All of a sudden, Raku found himself in a seemingly endless and empty expanse. His surroundings were pure white including the floor which made moving disorienting.

"Hi there." Raku heard a voice say.

Turning around to find the source of the voice, Raku found a child with black and indigo hair. Honestly, it was the spitting image of a shorter Raku.

Before Raku could even barrage him with questions, the answers already came to his mind.

With a smile, the child said "Surprised? I can transfer my thoughts directly to you. We are the same person, after all."

Letting the answers sink in, Raku voiced them "You're the manifestation of all the memories I lost after I was attacked by that animal when I was a kid."

With a wide smile, younger Raku beamed "Yup! Today I'm giving you back your memories. Wait, that's not right. It'd be more appropriate to say that I'm becoming one with you, but not in the same sense as you becoming one with you-know-who."

The child's last comment earned a furious blush on Raku's face as the child laugh "Hahaha! Becoming embarrassed with yourself, huh? That's a new low."

Brushing the embarrassment aside, Raku went on "Whatever. Tell me, why did you wait so long to, uh, rejoin me? That sounds so weird. Just tell me why you didn't return my memories earlier."

"Cause' then you would've known the truth about the promise before choosing a girl. That would've totally ruined it!" The child scolded.

Scratching his head, Raku sighed "As much as I enjoy arguing with myself, this is getting ridiculous."

"Okay, you're the boss." The child exclaimed as his body started illuminating. Once his body disappeared, little balls of light that sparkled like snow were left and drifted towards Raku. One after another, the balls of light entered Raku's body. With each one, Raku remembered something about his past. Once the last ball of light entered Raku's body, the memories started flooding back of that one precious time.

In the scene, a child-like Raku was speaking to a younger Marika who was blushing madly and looked incredibly nervous.

"I-I don't think I can compete with them other girls. They're just so pretty and unique that I reckon I don't stand much of a chance." Marika confessed to the boy.

Shaking his head, younger Raku replied "What're you talking about? You're pretty and unique too, ya know."

This resulted in a huge blush on Marika's face as she stuttered "I-I don't know a-about that. I-I don't have that long hair that y-you like so much."

Raku looked bewildered by Marika's statement and went on with a touch of sadness "Are you saying you're not gonna compete?"

Raku's question catching her off guard, Marika tried making out an answer "W-What? I don't know. It's just… All I'm good for is layin in bed all day. I don't think I can become a great girl that you'd like."

Sighing, Raku took a step closer as he put a hand on Marika's shoulder and tried his best to encourage her "'If you don't take the first step, a path won't open for you.' You keep saying that you 'don't know'. Isn't that more of an excuse for you to try? You'll end up with regret if you never find out what you can and can't do."

Raku's words were more than encouraging to Marika as a huge smile blossomed on her face. If there was any one person who could motivate herself to do something, it would be Raku. Unknown to her, Raku still wasn't done.

"Plus… I kinda… want you to win, Mari." Raku answered honestly as a blush formed on his face.

"Huh?" Marika muttered in bewilderment who hadn't yet processed Raku's words.

Scratching his cheek, Raku finished "If… If you win… then that means… we'll be together, right?"

After Raku's point was finally understood by Marika, she exclaimed nervously with a mad blush "You… you mean… you want me?!"

Raku simply nodded who was far too embarrassed to say anything.

After a short silence, Marika wrapped her arms tightly around Raku as she declared "I… I won't lose! I'm gonna beat those darned girls! That way, Rakkun and I can…" The embarrassment caught up to her as she found herself unable to continue.

As the scene disappeared, Raku found himself back in the apartment and a teenage Marika stood before him. He was back in the present.

"It… opened." Marika uttered who was almost speechless.

As the two peered inside the locket, what they found was a little piece of paper. After briefly hesitating, Marika pulled it out and started reading it aloud.

"Dear future Rakkun, this is Mari. You were supposed to find a letter in here written by the four girls with keys, but I thought it was stupid so I ripped it apart and put this one in here instead. I'm declaring that your feelings will change in my favor! I won't lose to some long haired girly girls! Until we meet again, Raku, know that I love you more than anything else. – Mari."

After clearing her throat, Marika looked away from Raku and said "That's all that's written here."

"I somehow doubt that. Let me see." Raku replied who was a little skeptical.

After a quiet _tsk_ , Marika handed the letter to Raku who begun to read the rest out loud.

"Marika, this was supposed to be fair and square with no foul play! Anyways, everyone's about to part ways and it will be a long time until we see each other again, so we made a promise to play again someday. All the girls get a key that can open the locket we gave to Raku. – Yui."

"Marika… that wasn't very nice… We're all way too embarrassed to confess now, well, with the exception of Marika anyways. When we gave Raku the locket, we told him that it'll reunite him with a promised girl. None of us are the promised girl right now, but the girl who opens the locket will be. - Kosaki."

"That's was totally uncalled for, Marika! We never did get along and I see why now! Ahem, we **did** put a mistletoe in the locket, but Marika threw it away. It was supposed to be our plan to kiss you. Ugh, why am I the one who has to write this?! Anyways… I really hope I get to be with you, dummy beansprout. You are my best friend, after all. – Chitoge."

"We hope you're happy, Raku. Four different girls have been in love with you since the beginning! Written by: Chitoge, Kosaki, Yui."

Just in case, Raku checked the back of the paper and was surprised to see one more note.

"But I'm the person who loves you the most. – Mari."

Raku still couldn't believe it. Even though he remembered the competition after regaining his memories, unlocking the pendant and reading about the contest felt unreal. It was probably because the whole thing was not what he was expecting it to be. Still…

With a soft smile, Raku said "Aren't you happy, Marika? According to this, you're the promised girl."

Once it finally dawned on her that it was her key that opened his locket, tears started streaming uncontrollably down her cheek. Another wish of hers became a reality.

She was the promised girl that Raku sought after for so long.

Putting her hands over her eyes, Marika wept happily "I can't… believe it. I… I really did it… Rakkun… I'm your promised girl."

Pulling Marika into a gentle embrace, Raku smiled "You big dummy. It took you that long to figure that out? You were always my promised girl."

After a few minutes of Marika's unbridled laughter and tears, she finally settled down. Feeling exhausted and drained, Marika leaned into Raku for support.

"I think my body can finally rest now." Marika spoke in almost a whisper.

"Marika?" Raku called her name in confusion. The arms that Marika wrapped around him had slackened and she never did finish her sentence. Dread slowly crept up on Raku.

"Raku… I don't have much time left in this world." Marika whispered whose smile faltered.

The weight those words carried were stronger than Raku could withstand. With forced obliviousness, Raku replied "You… You already told me that."

Feeling Raku's arms wrapped even more tightly around her, Marika knew that the meaning of her words got across to him. Knowing she lost the ability to walk, Marika asked "Can you carry me to the bed? I can't…"

"…Sure." Raku answered back with a clear lack of emotion in his voice.

Marika was once again picked up by Raku bridal style. Taking a look at her face, it started looking slightly pale which agonized Raku " _Why? Why?! She was perfectly fine five minutes ago! She can't… She can't be..!"_

"Thank you, Raku." Marika's thanks cut Raku's thoughts off. It took everything Raku had not to cry once she said that. To anyone else, it seemed like three simple words, but Raku felt the true gravity that they held. Marika wasn't just thanking Raku for carrying her.

She was thanking him for everything he's done for her until now.

"Anything for you, Marika." Raku managed to answer her.

Once Raku carried Marika into the bedroom, he started gently setting her down on the bed when she asked "This past month, tell me, was I able to smile most of the time?"

This question most certainly caught Raku off guard as he finished setting Marika down on the bed.

Going through with her question, Marika smiled "Will you remember me living happily?"

As the tears rolled down his face, Raku forced a smile "You kidding me? You were smiling every day. All I had to do was look at you and a huge smile would appear on your face. How could someone who smiles so genuinely be unhappy?"

Although Marika's smile faltered slightly from her new tears, her smile remained beaming on her face.

Still wanting to finish answering, Raku went on "When I remember you, I'm going to see a smiling girl who's always calling out my name. I'm going to remember the way you chased after me and held me. I'm going to remember a girl who was always bustling with energy and did the most ridiculous things on a daily basis. I'm going to see a girl who will keep encouraging me to move forward."

Marika still hung onto her smile; however, she is on the brink of uncontrollable sobbing.

"I'll… I'll remember you as the girl who I love and adore with all of my heart." Raku broke first who started sobbing but it only took a second for Marika to join him. Raku wrapped his arms gently around Marika who was too weak to return his embrace.

The two spent the rest of the day together. No more words were spoken during most of the afternoon, none were needed during that time.

It was only until the sun started touching the horizon when Marika broke the silence "Hey… Raku? Since it's Valentine's Day, I made you something." Marika's voice was fragile and lacked energy.

"Is it another chocolate sculpture of me?" Raku tried vainly to lighten the mood.

Marika, who didn't have the strength to laugh, smiled "No, it is not. It wouldn't be… creative if I went with that idea again. Look… in my purse. It's in a small box."

Raku rummaged through Marika's purse and found the small box she was talking about.

"Open it." Marika weakly instructed.

Opening the box, Raku found a brown shaped ring inside. "Is this made of..." Raku tried asking but stopped midsentence as he tried figuring it out.

Finishing his statement for him, Marika explained "Chocolate? Yes, but it is made out of a very special material. It cannot be melted… no matter how much time passes. I had it specially made for your left ring finger. Will you accept this?"

At the very end, Marika stood by her ridiculous ways. Raku couldn't even wrap his mind around non-melt chocolate and had no idea how Marika got his finger measurements. Raku also couldn't remember the last time he smiled so genuinely, however…

"This is a wonderful gift, Marika. I would love more than anything to wear this on my finger forever, but wouldn't it be strange? To have a ring around my finger and not be married?" Raku reasoned with his smile unwavering. Before Marika even had time to react to Raku's question, Raku thrust forward a box of his own and opened it in front of her.

"Will you marry me, Marika?" Raku asked with the same unwavering smile on his face.

As Marika looked at the ring, she was completely dumbfounded. It was a real diamond ring and its value looked immense. Still in complete shock, Marika asked "Raku… how?"

"Let's just say a certain gorilla's mother worked me to the bone once and rewarded me for it. That, and I sometimes work with Kosaki's mom. It's a good thing I'm not a heavy spender or else I might not have been able to afford this." Raku explained with unwavering determination.

Tears ran down Marika's face who was too weak to hold them back. With a shining smile, Marika answered Raku's proposal.

"Yes, I will marry you!" Marika passionately answered. Regaining her strength momentarily, Marika rose from her bed and flung her arms gently around Raku.

Despite all of the bad things that were happening, Raku will always remember this moment as the happiest moment of his life which was a life that wasn't bound to just one person now.

After their beautiful moment, Marika's arms slackened completely as she whispered "I can't feel my arms anymore."

"Marika?" Raku called her name as that horrible feeling started swirling in his gut once again. Feeling Marika lean completely against his body, Raku could tell that Marika had no strength left so he gently laid her back down in bed.

"I thought I was already satisfied… however; It seems like my body wouldn't rest… until I achieved my very last, outlandish wish." Marika reasoned in a quiet voice.

"Marika… don't tell me… you…" Raku panicked as dread crept up on him and he knew that these would be his very last few moments with Marika.

Taking a moment to breathe, Marika smiled as brightly as she could as she spoke "I lived a fulfilling life. I made friends; although, I also made enemies. I worked hard and achieved my dreams. I even cheated death. I also… have the perfect husband. I'm glad you're the person who sends me off in the end. I love you, Raku. No words are strong enough to fully communicate the strength of my love for you, so this will have to do."

Closing her eyes, Marika thrust her lips slightly forward as a signal to Raku which he answered without hesitation. Bending down, Raku's lips met with Marika's as the two shared a final parting kiss.

"Goodbye, Raku." Marika whispered to him as her eyes remained closed.

In mad desperation, Raku screamed as tears raced down his face "No, Marika! Please don't go yet! I'm… I'm not ready for this! Please-"

"Raku…" Marika partially opened her eyes as she whispered "I can't leave until you say… goodbye. It would be so rude of me to go… without giving you the chance to say it."

While Raku was initially relieved that Marika was still with him, she was very faint and it was clear to Raku that she was forcing herself through sheer willpower just to stay conscious. Right now, Raku felt like an anchor that prevented Marika from passing on and he couldn't bear that.

Summoning all of his strength, Raku grabbed Marika's hand softly and prepared himself for what was about to happen. As Raku looked at Marika, he saw that a smile still rested on her face as her eyes closed once again.

"Please… say it to me… Rakkun." Marika pleaded using the remainder of her strength.

Raku's crying only intensified as the tears blurred his vision, and yet he could still see the gentle smile on Marika's face. Raku knew what had to be done. He knew that this was their final goodbye. Wondering how it came to this, Raku thought back to the first time he ever met Marika.

"Hi there! My name's Raku. What's yours?" A younger Raku asked the orange haired girl who was in bed.

The girl was startled by his sudden appearance; however, a bright smile formed on her lips as she answered "M-My name? W-Well, my name's Marika, but you can call me Mari. It's nice to meet ya!"

Wanting to protect that warm smile Marika has, Raku made up his mind to let her go so she could escape from this world she's suffering in.

"Goodbye, Mari."

After hearing those two simple words, Marika's body finally gave out as her soul drifted into a deep slumber and when she woke up, she was in another place that was far from the world she knew and loved.

-Many years later-

On a cloudy day where rain seemed imminent, a man walked alone through a forest.

"You made it a real pain in the ass to come visit you, you know that?" The grown man complained to nobody; however, a soft smile rested on his face as he continued voicing his thoughts "Well, I understand why you chose this place. People can be a pain, so being all the way out here must be very peaceful."

After walking quite a bit, the man finally reached his destination: the grave of his beloved.

"It's been awhile, Marika." Raku smiled gently as he grew closer to the grave. Once Raku stood right in front of Marika's grave, he started talking about random things that happened in the last year whether they were major events or nonsensical things, just like he did every year. Raku visited America once a year to visit that same mountain side from his childhood. It was the same place he met Marika who chose this as her resting place because it felt like home to her after spending so much time here.

"I knew you'd be here." A voice called out to Raku from behind.

Already knowing who it was, Raku muttered under his breath "Tsk, can't a guy have some alone time with his wife, Shitoge?"

"What was that?" Chitoge asked in a demanding tone. Even though Chitoge didn't hear what Raku said, she could tell it was something foul.

Not wanting to fight with her right off the bat, Raku revised his previous statement "I asked 'how did you know I would be here'?"

Folding her arms over her chest, Chitoge answered "Hmpf, who said I was coming for you? Are you saying a friend of Marika's can't visit her on her birthday?"

After turning around, Raku took a few steps away from Marika's grave. After pulling a cigarette out of his pocket, Raku replied "Sorry. You're constantly pestering me about spending time together that I was worried I had a gorilla stalking me. Anyways, she's all yours if you want to talk to her." Raku proceeded to start smoking when he was a significant distant away from Marika's grave.

Still wanting to talk to the man before her, Chitoge focused her attention on Raku as she said "I wouldn't call asking you once a month to spend some time with me 'constantly pestering'. Honestly, you're going to die alone at this rate and fast. You… You should really quit smoking."

Raku's relationship with Chitoge will always be the same. Best friends who are always at each other's throats, but there were some moments that Raku cherished and this was one of them. Chitoge's concern was impactful on Raku who took the cigarette out of his mouth and had a proposition he wanted to share with Chitoge "Alright, I'll quit smoking, but only on one condition. You have to give up alcohol."

"Not happening." Chitoge answered bluntly.

Chitoge's lightning fast response took Raku by surprise as he replied "G-Geez, I'll take that as a sign of a true alcoholic."

Getting flustered from Raku's comment, Chitoge blushed furiously as she defended herself "W-What?! It's not that bad! It's not like I let it consume my life or anything! You're talking to the head of a giant corporation, but your case is different. You're setting a bad example by smoking, Doctor Ichijou."

Knowing the conversation wouldn't flow well in its current direction, Chitoge brought up another topic "So, I hear you finally did it. You cured what used to be considered an incurable illness."

Raku knew exactly what Chitoge was talking about and simply replied with "Yeah, I did."

Chitoge pushed the topic further and was curious about Raku's feelings about the matter "I'm sure she's really proud of you; however, I'd have to say I'm a little disappointed. After you found the cure, you were offered a huge amount of money which you proceeded to turn down just so you could rename the illness. Even now, you really are a stupid beansprout."

Getting a little embarrassed himself, Raku countered "W-What was I supposed to do with all that money?! Unlike somebody I know, it doesn't take a vast amount of wealth to make me happy. It's just… Marika complained about the name of her illness. I wanted to change its complicated name, so I renamed it after the 'Marigold' flower Marika always wore. I thought it was appropriate since 'Marigold' means 'health' in the language of flowers."

To be honest, Raku's dedication to Marika after all these years amazed Chitoge who couldn't help but feel happy and a bit jealous. Chitoge thought Raku was a perfect example of how a man should be: strong hearted and completely loyal. The jealous part came in when she knew Raku had something she herself lacked: a treasure that drove him.

"Talking to you is giving me a headache. I'm going to go talk to Marika now." Chitoge hissed as she started walking towards Marika's grave.

"Don't blame your hangover on me." Raku chuckled as he went back to smoking his cigarette.

After speaking to Marika for a while, Chitoge got up and voiced her thoughts to Raku "I've been taking care of my mom's corporation in her absence for a long time which grows under my supervision to this day. Still, what I've managed to accomplish can't even compare to what you've accomplished. It's because you have something truly inspiring that's pushing you forward. All I have is my business, a few close friends, and alcohol from time to time. Still…"

Turning around to face Raku, Chitoge pointed directly at him and with a smile, she vowed "I'm going to find my treasure, Raku, and when I do, you'll be sorry for not choosing me because I will become an incredible woman."

Chitoge's declaration startled Raku who didn't know how it came to this or what Chitoge was talking about entirely. Having a good gist of what Chitoge was trying to communicate, Raku answered "I'm not completely sure what you're talking about, but I do have two complaints. I will never regret marrying Marika and I will never choose another woman. Also, you were always incredible in your own way so you can mark that off of your to-do list."

Raku didn't mind saying that last part because of his close friendship with Chitoge; however, Raku's statement put a mad blush on her face as she replied "I-I mean, I'll become even more incredible!"

"So, what? You'll become 'super-incredible'? 'Ultra-incredible'? 'Maximum-over-incredible'?" Raku teased who couldn't help but laugh.

"Grr…" Chitoge growled as her blush intensified. Regret wasn't a strong enough word to describe how she felt at the moment and would do anything to retract her previous statement.

"Hey… want to grab a bite to eat?" Raku asked to change topics.

Surprised by Raku's sudden offer, Chitoge's embarrassment started to dissipate and she beamed "Sure, but you have to pay for my meal!"

"This might just me, but I somehow feel like the leader of a successful international business shouldn't get excited over a free meal." Raku laughed happily. After all these years, Chitoge was still Chitoge who started laughing herself. It was moments like these where Raku knew he wasn't alone. Although he once lost his entire world, Raku kept moving forward and came to a better place because of his persistence. It was something Raku picked up from Marika's lifestyle. It was during this moment, Raku remembered something he once said.

 _"A happy ending isn't something that's decided by circumstance; but rather, it's something you work for. All of the memories and the bonds I forged with you and Marika will give me my happy ending."_

Raku felt a light blush form on his face when he remembered these words. Chitoge was right, it sounded really stupid and extremely cheesy. Even so…

" _Even if it's embarrassing, I will always stand by those words."_ Raku thought with a smile.

-Raku's monologue-

" _My name is Raku Ichijou and I became a husband at the age of seventeen. My story is a ridiculous one at best and I never knew the meaning of the word 'normal'. Born into a hopeless yakuza family and forced into a relationship to stop an all-out war between two factions, I didn't know what 'peace' meant either. I thought life couldn't get any more bizarre, but then 'she' reentered my life. Her name was Marika Tachibana and she is the love of my life. After I met her and after I fell in love with her, I finally found the treasure in my life that I had been desperately searching for; however, it was snatched away from me. On a Valentine's Day, I proposed to her and became a husband; however, just five minutes later, I became a widower. My heart broke into pieces, I lost my way, and I lost the ability to feel. When I was about to succumb to despair, I felt something touch my shoulder. Of course, nobody was there, so I thought I was just imagining things, but then I heard a distant yet familiar voice."_

" _Do your best, Rakkun."_

" _While I know the logical explanation would be that I imagined it, that there was no way Marika could say those things to me now. You don't understand the lengths Marika would go to for somebody she loves. It does sound ridiculous, I know, but Marika's very nature is ridiculousness, so it's not at all surprising for her to cheer me on from the afterlife. After hearing her words, I cried for the first time in a long time. I will never again experience despair, Marika would scold me for it. The pain of losing something precious is indescribable, but moving past the agony makes today even more precious. The time I spent with her, the time I fell into despair, the tomorrow that I will struggle towards, all of it is my treasure."_

" _Thank you for being the sparkle of my life, Marika."_

* * *

Raku found himself in an unfamiliar place and it was incredibly hard to describe his surroundings using words from a different plane of existence. If he had to describe his current environment in one word, it would be "surreal". Knowing how he reached this place, Raku wanted to call this place "heaven"; however, was it the real thing? Raku still did not know.

"It's been far too long, Raku." A familiar voice spoke.

Raku didn't have to turn around to know who was speaking. With tears involuntarily running down his face, Raku answered "Sorry I took so long to get here. It's just that a certain person told me not to waste my life. I… I did everything I set out to do. When I died, I left behind no regrets. That's what you wanted, right?"

"Mari?" Raku finally turned around to face his wife who was just as beautiful as he remembered. Tears raced down her cheeks as well, but Raku still found that smile he desired to see.

"Welcome home, my beloved Rakkun."

" **If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane. I would walk right up to Heaven and bring you back again." – Unknown**

 **Author's Notes: Well, this fanfiction is finally done. It's been quite a journey for me and it's a little sad to be done, but I'm satisfied with how this fanfiction turned out. I would even say it trumps my Zawsze In Love with a Stupid Beansprout fanfiction! This is definitely the most emotional piece I've ever written as well. Also, happy Mother's Day if you're reading this on the day it's released.**

 **Time to talk references! The main reference, the one thing that inspired me to write this, was the Linkin Park song called "Valentine's Day" which I listened to while writing Zawzse In-. Listening to the lyrics, it can definitely be interpreted as a funeral and I couldn't stop thinking about that and Marika and I kinda mixed the two together. So, yeah, the title of this fanfiction is from a part of the song when Chester keeps repeating "On a Valentine's Day". If you're interested, try reading this fanfiction while listening to the song.**

 **Speaking on my other Nisekoi fanfiction, I also went with the same locket explanation. I tried coming up with something different, but I really do like the contest explanation and I really do think it's what the locket's all about. I'm just not a big fan of the past deciding the future. I mean, what if Raku likes Chitoge and the locket says the promised girl is actually Kosaki? Then the locket would lose meaning because Raku wouldn't abandon his feelings for Chitoge just because of an old promise. I forget which chapter, but Raku did say that he will follow his heart instead of the locket when it comes to choosing a girl.**

 **Any Erased fans? I put a quote in here just for you guys that you're sure to pick up on. I'm talking about you, Moosashi! It's an excellent quote that we can all learn from.**

 **Any Dragon Ball Abridged fans? There was one scene where Tien mocked Vegeta and you may find something very similar to that in here.**

 **While I doubt a lot of you have seen Kanon, there was a scene where the male protagonist was talking to a girl suffering from a fatal illness. At one point, the girl asks "Was I able to smile most of the time?" Then the OST "Trace of a dream" started playing and my heart started to feel. I really did cry and the whole thing was really impactful for me.**

 **That's about it when it comes to references. I also drew a lot of inspiration from other animes when it came to making this chapter. I rewatched certain scenes from shows like Anohana, Your Lie in April, Undertale (not an anime), and some others. I felt a lot of sadness, but it also inspired me to write what I did so I'm also really happy. It was such a beautiful sadness, after all.**

 **Well, I believe that wraps up everything. I hope you all enjoyed this story and thanks for sticking with it until the end. See you later!**

 **5/13/16 UPDATE: This is an update about the title of this fanfiction which used to be "On a Valentine's Day". Since I created this fanfiction, I was really satisfied with the title; however, something nagged away at me and it finally hit me while I was reading my "Zawzse In Love..." fanfiction. "On a Valentine's Day" didn't imply that it was about Marika at all and had none of her essence. So, that's why I changed it to"Marika's Route: On a Valentine's Day".** **If you were thrown off about this change, I apologize.** **I will also be posting this update on the first chapter.**


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